Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Boxford is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, 3rd among Massachusetts's 282 graded towns. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 99% of U.S. towns, CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 98% of the country, and the median household earns $201K. Its lowest mark, a B−, is in cost of living. Boxford’s median household income is $201,000, above both the Massachusetts town median ($120,000) and the median of U.S. towns ($80,000). On cost of living, just 4 of Massachusetts’ 324 towns do better. Its National Register listings include Spofford-Barnes House and Phineas Foster House.
Where Boxford beats most towns.
Census counts: 925 in 1790, a low of 588 in 1920, 8,203 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1885 and 8 maps from 1888 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Boxford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Boxford. Close and well known come first.
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw24 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
23 mi LakeWalden Pond
23 mi AttractionFreedom Trail
23 mi Stadium & arenaHarvard Stadium
24 mi MuseumMuseum of Fine Arts Boston477K visitors a yearFenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Harvard Stadium: Nick Allen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Museum of Fine Arts Boston: Martin~jawiki at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Boxford, 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 Boxford.
Boxford has less no health insurance than most of Massachusetts and has household incomes well above the Massachusetts norm, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Massachusetts.
82 miles of trail in 69 parks and preserves. The trail density in Boxford is 3.4 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Boxford State Forest, 580 acres with 7.3 miles of trail.
| Boxford | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 3.4 miles per square mile | 1.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 23% | 19% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. J. C. Phillips Sanctuary | 7.5 mi | 371 |
| 2. Boxford State Forest | 7.3 mi | 580 |
| 3. Wildcat Conservation Area | 4.7 mi | 288 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Masconomet school district. Three of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Masconomet Regional High School, with 924 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masconomet Regional Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 553 | B+ |
| Masconomet Regional High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 924 | A+ |
| Spofford PondTop results in townGrades 3–6 | Grades 3–6 | 411 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Violent crime is rare: 0 reported in 2025, 0 per 1,000 residents.
Boxford’s violent crime rate is 0 per 1,000 residents. Among 277 Massachusetts towns, just 7 have a lower property crime rate than Boxford.
| Boxford | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.8 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its widest gap with Massachusetts is no health insurance: 2.4% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 5.2% statewide. Against the 1,047 U.S. towns with household incomes like Boxford’s, it is healthier than 68%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
28% of adults feel lonely in Boxford. Boxford beats the Massachusetts average on 19 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 13% of adults report frequent mental distress in Boxford.
| Boxford | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.8% | 11% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 19% |
| What stands out | Boxford | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 2.4% | 5.2% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.6% | 11.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.4% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 9.1 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income, the typical home (about $1.06M) costs more against local pay than in 87% of Massachusetts towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living.
95% of Boxford households own their home. The typical Boxford home is worth about $1,056,000, up 1.2% in a year, 61% above the Massachusetts typical home.
| Boxford | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 95% | 79% | 73% |
| Median rent | $776 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 81% of U.S. communities. Since 2001, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Boxford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Boxford for work: only 8% work in town. Jobs based in Boxford grew to 1,209 in 2023, 193 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Boston (12%), Danvers (4%) and Peabody (3%).
| Boxford | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 22% | 18% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 3.1% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Boxford has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 17° and about 67 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
10 within 15 miles of the center of Boxford
About 5 of every 100 Boxford residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
Where Boxford’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
9 places in Boxford on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Boxford.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Boxford is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town's population was 8,203 in 2020. The original town center of Boxford, along with East Boxford and other areas in the eastern part of the town, comprise the census-designated place of Boxford.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Boxford.
At #3 in MA, it grades higher overall than all 7 graded towns on its borders; Topsfield (A+) comes closest.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boxford | #3 | A+ | B− | A+ | A | A+ |
| Topsfield | #5 | A+ | C+ | A | A | A+ |
| Middleton | #49 | A | C | A | A− | A |
| North Andover | #79 | A | D− | A− | A− | A |
| Georgetown | #76 | A | D | A | B | A+ |
| Haverhill | #249 | C− | C− | C+ | D | B |
| Groveland | #85 | A− | C− | A+ | B+ | A |
| Rowley | #140 | B+ | C− | — | B− | A+ |
Rowley reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Boxford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Boxford grades A+ overall, among the top 2% of U.S. towns and #3 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A+ for health, A+ for safety and A for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
9 notable people were born here, including Chris Kreider and Thomas Knowlton.
