Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Berkley grades B+ overall, 114th of 282 graded towns in Massachusetts. The median household earns $144K. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 87% of U.S. towns and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 85% of the country. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $633K, 7.3 years of the Providence metro’s $87K median household income. Berkley’s trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile, where Massachusetts’ towns sit at 1.8 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Only 17 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns score lower on walkability. Dighton Rock is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Berkley beats most towns.
Census counts: 850 in 1790, 6,764 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1940 and 8 maps from 1885 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Berkley is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Berkley. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw35 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
10 mi MuseumUSS Massachusetts
Big draw28 mi MuseumThe Breakers
22 mi Ancient siteHMS Endeavour
Big draw35 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner MuseumGillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · USS Massachusetts: USN, Public domain · The Breakers: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0 · HMS Endeavour: Samuel Atkins (c.1760-1810), Public domain · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Berkley, 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 Berkley.
Berkley reports less crime than Dighton or any other graded neighbor, sends most of its workers to Boston and beyond and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Massachusetts.
Its A tops all 4 graded towns on its borders; Dighton (B+) comes closest. Reported crimes rose from 20 to 29 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Berkley’s property crime rate is 2.6 per 1,000 residents, close to Massachusetts’ towns (4.9) and below U.S. towns (9.9).
| Berkley | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.6 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.6 per 1,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Berkley school district. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berkley Community SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 459 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Within Massachusetts it is less healthy than 55% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar. Against the 3,203 U.S. towns with household incomes like Berkley’s, it is less healthy than 57%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
19% of adults binge drink in Berkley. Berkley beats the Massachusetts average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 8.3% of adults have diabetes in Berkley.
| Berkley | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.3% | 9.3% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 19% | 25% |
| What stands out | Berkley | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.4% | 5.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.6% | 12.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Berkley has 759 jobs for its 3,516 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
2.1% of Berkley residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Berkley has added 155 jobs, to 759 in 2023. Most working residents leave Berkley for work: only 5% work in town.
| Berkley | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $144,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 2.1% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 13% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 77% of U.S. communities. Since 1996, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Berkley.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Adults 35 to 64 are 49% of residents (39% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 15% of residents (24% statewide). Berkley has grown 2.9% since 2020, to 6,950 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 38% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 47% across Massachusetts.
| Berkley | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 47% | 29% |
| Median age | 43.4 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 21% | 20% | 22% |
46% women, 54% men
About 115 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.6 points). Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Berkley | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.4% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13.8% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.8% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 6.9% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.8% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 19.2% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.4% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.8% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.2% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.5% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.7% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.1% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.5% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Berkley has chilly winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 20° and about 26 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1.0 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Dighton Rock State Park, at 98 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Dighton Rock State Park | 0.1 mi | 98 |
| 2. Berkley Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Among 283 Massachusetts towns, just 1 have a higher share of households owning their home than Berkley. Typical home values rose 4.5% in the year to September 2026.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
4 within 15 miles of the center of Berkley
About 5 of every 100 Berkley residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
Where Berkley’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Berkley is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston and east of Providence, Rhode Island. The population was 6,764 according to the 2020 census, making it the least populated town in the county. Berkley is a part of the South Coast region of Massachusetts which encompasses the cities and towns that surround Buzzards Bay (excluding the Elizabeth Islands, Bourne and Falmouth), Mount Hope Bay and the Sakonnet River.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Berkley.
It grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Somerset (B) comes closest.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Berkley grades B+ overall, better than 74% of U.S. towns and #114 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A− for health, A for safety and B for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
2 notable people were born here, including C. G. W. French and Rodney French.
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