Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Charlton's standout: the median household earns $118K. Overall it grades B+, 125th among Massachusetts's 282 graded towns. It is healthier than 81% of U.S. towns and it reports less crime per resident than 76% of U.S. towns. Charlton’s trail density is 0.8 miles per square mile, where Massachusetts’ towns sit at 1.8 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Its National Register listings include John Spurr House and Rider Tavern. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 77% of U.S. towns.
Where Charlton beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,965 in 1790, 13,315 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1797 and 8 maps from 1889 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 Charlton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Charlton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw9 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
Big draw36 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
31 mi National Historic SiteSpringfield Armory National Historic Site14K visitors a year
38 mi LakeWalden Pond
23 mi LakeQuabbin Reservoir
7 mi MuseumOld Sturbridge VillageLake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Gillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Springfield Armory National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Quabbin Reservoir: engineerchange, CC BY 2.0 · Old Sturbridge Village: Wgmleslie at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5
Who provides power, water and the rest in Charlton, 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 Charlton.
Charlton is safe by national standards but not by Massachusetts’s and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Massachusetts.
Within Massachusetts it is less healthy than 65% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar. Its widest gap with Massachusetts is tooth loss: 7.6% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.9% statewide.
19% of adults binge drink in Charlton, above both Massachusetts’ towns (17%) and U.S. towns (16%). 26% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Charlton. Charlton beats the Massachusetts average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Charlton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 24% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 28% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.2% | 9.3% | 12% |
| What stands out | Charlton | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.6% | 11.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.7% | 5.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.6% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Dudley-Charlton Regional school district. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School, with 1,188 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlton Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 631 | B− |
| Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,188 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
At 9.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 59% of Massachusetts’s graded towns.
Charlton’s property crime rate is 3.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Charlton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.3 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave Charlton for work: only 8% work in town. The average trip to work in Charlton is 33 minutes. The top destinations are Worcester (19%), Boston (5%) and Auburn (5%).
| Charlton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 2.5% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $118,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 13% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 75% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Charlton since 1979.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Adults 18 to 34 are 15% of residents (24% statewide); children under 18 are 25% of residents (19% statewide). 38% of Charlton adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. Charlton has grown 2.7% since 2020, to 13,685 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Charlton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 25% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 47% | 29% |
| Median age | 43 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.7 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Charlton | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.3% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13.4% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.2% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.5% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.2% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.3% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.2% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.4% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.6% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.3% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.7% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.2% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.3% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.3% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.3% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Charlton has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 16° and about 64 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Charlton home is worth about $530,000, up 2.4% in a year, 19% below the Massachusetts typical home.
| Charlton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 85% | 79% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,381 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
35 miles of trail in 30 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Buffumville Lake Park, 446 acres with 6.9 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Buffumville Lake Park | 6.9 mi | 446 |
| 2. Capen Hill Nature Sanctuary | 3.7 mi | 83 |
| 3. Bennett Wildlife Management Area | 2.1 mi | 264 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
8 within 15 miles of the center of Charlton
About 7 of every 100 Charlton residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Massachusetts.
Where Charlton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 places in Charlton on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Charlton.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Charlton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,315 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Charlton.
It grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Sturbridge (B+) comes closest.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlton | #125 | B+ | C+ | A− | C+ | A− |
| Southbridge Town | #276 | D− | C | C+ | D− | C− |
| Oxford | #208 | B− | C+ | B+ | C− | B |
| Sturbridge | #146 | B+ | C | B− | B | A |
| East Brookfield | — | — | C+ | B+ | C− | B+ |
| Spencer | #212 | B− | C+ | A | C− | B |
East Brookfield has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Compare Charlton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Charlton grades B+ overall, better than 70% of U.S. towns and #125 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A− for health, A− for safety and C+ for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 5.5 years of the area's median household income ($95,939 across the Worcester, MA 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+.
5 notable people were born here, including William T. G. Morton and Amasa Stone.
