Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Brockton grades D overall, ranked 272nd of 282 in Massachusetts, mostly because of schools and safety. Its schools rank behind 93% of the state's. Its police reported 568 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 83% of U.S. towns. One bright spot: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 94% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 94% of U.S. towns, with 24 places on the National Register. Brockton’s violent crime rate is 5.4 per 1,000 residents, against 1.4 in Massachusetts’ towns and 1.6 across U.S. towns. On health, just 5 of Massachusetts’ 321 towns do worse. Its National Register listings include Brockton City Hall and Central Fire Station.
Where Brockton beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Brockton City Hall| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Edgar B Davis | K–8 | 1,009 |
| Louis F Angelo Elementary | K–5 | 875 |
| Oscar F Raymond | K–5 | 864 |
Census counts: 1,953 in 1830, 105,643 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1883 and 8 maps from 1886 on.
24 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Brockton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Brockton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw19 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw18 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
27 mi MuseumUSS Massachusetts
19 mi AttractionFreedom Trail
18 mi MuseumMuseum of Fine Arts Boston477K visitors a yearGillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · USS Massachusetts: USN, Public domain · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Museum of Fine Arts Boston: Martin~jawiki at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Brockton, 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 Brockton.
Brockton reports more crime than Abington and its other graded neighbors, but it scores below Whitman and its other neighbors on health and trails Easton and its other neighbors on schools.
Each of its 5 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its D, Easton highest at A−.
Its public schools are run by the Brockton school district. Two of its 27 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edgar B DavisLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 1,009 | D |
| Brockton HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 3,598 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Each of the 5 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Abington (C+) to East Bridgewater (A−). At 39.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 96% of Massachusetts’s graded towns.
The property crime rate in Brockton is 13.9 per 1,000 residents. Brockton reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 83% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
All 5 graded neighbors score healthier than its C−, from Whitman (B+) to West Bridgewater (A).
39% of Brockton adults feel lonely. Among 279 Massachusetts towns, just 2 have a higher share of adults who report frequent mental distress than Brockton. 16% of Brockton adults report frequent physical distress.
| Brockton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 33% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 16% | 17% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 9.1% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 33% | 36% |
| What stands out | Brockton | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.8% | 8.5% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 15.1% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
6.9% of workers work from home in Brockton. About one in 5 of Brockton’s working residents works in town. 14% of residents live below the poverty line in Brockton.
| Brockton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 6.9% | 18% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
267 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 40 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 74% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 267 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Brockton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Brockton home is worth about $505,000, up 2.1% in a year, 23% below the Massachusetts typical home. Brockton’s median rent is $1,641 a month.
| Brockton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 79% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,641 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 55% | 52% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Brockton has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 19° and about 34 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
17 miles of trail in 28 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Beaver Brook Conservation Land, 252 acres with 2.9 miles of trail.
| Brockton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 1.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9.4% | 19% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Beaver Brook Conservation Land | 2.9 mi | 252 |
| 2. D.W. Field Park | 1.6 mi | 229 |
| 3. Wildlands Trust - Brockton Audubon Preserve | 1.4 mi | 122 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
9 within 15 miles of the center of Brockton
About 6 of every 100 Brockton residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
24 places in Brockton on the National Register of Historic Places.
41 notable people were born in Brockton.
City in Massachusetts, United States
Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Its population was 105,643 at the 2020 United States census, and it is a major economic and commercial hub for the southern part of Greater Boston. Along with Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of the county. It is the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts and is sometimes referred to as the "City of Champions", due to the success of native boxers Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler, as well as its successful Brockton High School sports programs. Two villages within it are Montello and Campello, both of which have MBTA Commuter Rail Stations and post offices. Campello is the smallest neighborhood, but also the most pop…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Brockton.
All 5 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D; Abington (B−) is closest. Easton next door grades higher for schools (A− to Brockton’s D) and lower for cost of living (D− to C−).
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brockton | #272 | D | C− | C− | D | C− |
| Abington | #189 | B− | D | C+ | C+ | A− |
| West Bridgewater | #185 | B− | D | B− | B− | A |
| Whitman | #176 | B | C− | B | C+ | B+ |
| East Bridgewater | #122 | B+ | C− | A− | B− | A− |
| Easton | #111 | B+ | D− | B | A− | A− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Brockton grades D overall, better than 5% of U.S. towns and #272 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades C− for health, C− for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. That is 4.4 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−.
41 notable people were born here, including Rocky Marciano and Andrew Card.
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