Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ayer's standout: it has 16 miles of trail. Overall it grades B+, ranked 123rd of 282 in Massachusetts. It is healthier than 83% of U.S. towns and natural-hazard risk is low. On cost of living, just 28 of Massachusetts’ 324 towns do better. Ayer is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 86% of U.S. towns. Ayer’s trail density is 1.7 miles per square mile, near the Massachusetts town median (1.8) and above the median of U.S. towns (0.4).
Where Ayer beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,446 in 1900, a peak of 14,927 in 1960, 8,479 in 2020. The archive holds 32 old photos and papers going back to 1868 and 6 maps from 1893 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Ayer is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ayer. Close and well known come first.
Big draw29 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw37 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw39 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
15 mi LakeWalden Pond
Big draw29 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
30 mi AttractionFreedom TrailFenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ayer, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Ayer.
Ayer has added a third more jobs in ten years and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Massachusetts; it also reports more crime than Shirley and its other graded neighbors.
On expected storm and flood damage, Ayer sits below 92% of U.S. communities. 3 flood insurance claims have been paid locally since 1987. Expected losses in Ayer break down as 59% from inland flooding and 13% from earthquakes. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Ayer after 14 declared disasters, most recently in 2018.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Two of the 3 schools are below, and why each made the list. The largest public high school is Ayer Shirley Regional High School, with 417 students. The Ayer Shirley School District runs its public schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Page Hilltop Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 539 | B− |
| Ayer Shirley Regional High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 417 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Within Massachusetts it is less healthy than 59% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar.
Among adults in Ayer, 12% smoke cigarettes, above Massachusetts’ towns (11%) but below U.S. towns (14%). 27% of adults have obesity locally. Two figures for adults here: 35% feel lonely, 26% have been diagnosed with depression.
| Ayer | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 28% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 33% | 33% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 24% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 35% |
| What stands out | Ayer | MA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults screened for colon cancer | 72% | 68.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The biggest park or preserve is Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge, at 263 acres. Ayer has 8 parks and preserves, 592 acres in all.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pine Meadow Conservation Land | 3.1 mi | 130 |
| 2. Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge | 0.1 mi | 263 |
| 3. Ayer Game Farm | — | 107 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 16° and about 53 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Ayer is safe by national standards, yet each of the 4 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Shirley (A−) to Groton (A).
Massachusetts has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Ayer sits closer to the middle. The town’s property offense rate is 5.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Ayer | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.6 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.8 per 1,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Jobs based here grew from 4,451 in 2013 to 5,792.
Ayer had 5,792 jobs in 2023, up 1,341 from 2013. Commuting out is the norm locally: a tenth of working residents work locally. Its middle household income is $102,000. The top destinations are Boston (7%), Acton (3%) and Littleton (3%).
| Ayer | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 22% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $102,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In Ayer, the rent at the middle of the market is $1,415 a month. Values rose 2.9% in the 12 months to September 2026. A home in Ayer typically sold within 16 days of listing.
| Ayer | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 69% | 79% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,415 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Ayer’s midpoint age comes in at 39.2 years. Adults 35 to 64 are 43% of residents (39% statewide). Since 2020, Ayer has grown 9.2%, to 9,267 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 15% of Ayer residents are 65 or older.
| Ayer | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 42% | 47% | 29% |
| Median age | 39.2 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 20% | 20% | 22% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Ayer | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.8% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.4% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.7% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.5% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.2% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.6% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 19.3% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.6% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.9% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.1% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20.1% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 21% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.4% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.3% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
4 within 15 miles of the center of Ayer
About 5 of every 100 Ayer residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
7,427 counted in 2010 and 8,479 in 2020; an estimated 9,267 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 9.2% since 2020, after 14.2% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
4 places in Ayer on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Ayer.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Ayer (, AIR) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Originally part of Groton, it was incorporated February 14, 1871, and became a major commercial railroad junction. The town was home to Camp Stevens, a training camp for Massachusetts volunteers during the American Civil War. Later, Fort Devens was established by the federal government to train New England soldiers for World War I. Fort Devens is a major influence on the area, although it is considerably smaller than when it was first closed in the mid-1990s. The town's population was 8,479 at the 2020 census. It contains the census-designated places of Ayer and Devens.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Ayer.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its B+; Shirley (A−) is closest.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Ayer grades B+ overall, better than 71% of U.S. towns and #123 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A− for health, B for safety and C+ for schools.
Yes, by national standards. Massachusetts has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Ayer sits nearer the middle.
That is 4.9 years of the area's median household income ($115,863 across the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
8 notable people were born here, including Bill Aucoin and Cheryl Brown.
