Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Douglas grades B+ overall, ranked 116th of 282 in Massachusetts, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. The median household earns $152K and it is healthier than 86% of U.S. towns. It also does better than most on safety: crime is low: it reports less per resident than 84% of U.S. towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: homes are expensive, about $555K for a typical one and 5.8 times the Worcester metro’s $96K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 91% of U.S. towns, with 3 places on the National Register. 27% of the land in Douglas is conserved, against 19% in Massachusetts’ towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Douglas State Forest, 5,893 acres with 58.6 miles of trail. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 72% of U.S. towns.
Where Douglas beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,079 in 1790, 8,983 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1938 and 8 maps from 1886 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Douglas is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Douglas. Close and well known come first.
Big draw5 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw39 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw39 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
38 mi Ancient siteHMS Endeavour
39 mi MuseumUSS MassachusettsLake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Gillette 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 · HMS Endeavour: Samuel Atkins (c.1760-1810), Public domain · USS Massachusetts: USN, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Douglas, 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 Douglas.
Douglas reports less crime than Uxbridge or any other graded neighbor, sends most of its workers to Worcester and beyond and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Massachusetts.
84 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Douglas’ trail density is 2.2 miles per square mile, where Massachusetts’ towns sit at 1.8 and U.S. towns at 0.4.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Douglas State Forest | 58.6 mi | 5,893 |
| 2. Mine Brook Wildlife Management Area | 3.4 mi | 333 |
| 3. Soldiers Field | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Douglas school district. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 2–5 | Grades 2–5 | 340 | C+ |
| Douglas High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 267 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Within Massachusetts it is less healthy than 52% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar. Its widest gap with Massachusetts is no health insurance: 3.2% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 5.2% statewide.
20% of Douglas adults binge drink. Douglas beats the Massachusetts average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 8.6% of Douglas adults have diabetes.
| Douglas | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 17% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.6% | 9.3% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 19% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 28% | 35% |
| What stands out | Douglas | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.2% | 5.2% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.5% | 11.9% |
| More binge drinkers | 19.8% | 17% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A− tops all 4 graded towns on its borders; Uxbridge (A−) comes closest. Violent crime is rare: 11 reported in 2025, 1.2 per 1,000 residents.
Douglas’ property crime rate is 1.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Douglas | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.6 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Douglas has 1,003 jobs for its 4,585 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Douglas for work: only 6% work in town. The average trip to work in Douglas is 34 minutes. The top destinations are Worcester (13%), Northbridge (5%) and Boston (5%).
| Douglas | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $152,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 21% | 18% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 4.8% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 75% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Douglas.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Douglas has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 17° and about 48 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Douglas home is worth about $555,000, up 3.1% in a year, 15% below the Massachusetts typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Adults 35 to 64 are 45% of residents (39% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 19% of residents (24% statewide). Douglas has grown 6.3% since 2020, to 9,545 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 15% of residents are 65 or older in Douglas.
| Douglas | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 42% | 47% | 29% |
| Median age | 44 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 21% | 20% | 22% |
56% women, 44% men
About 78 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.3 points). Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Douglas | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.1% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13.1% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.4% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.1% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.3% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.9% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.7% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.4% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.2% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.6% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.4% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.9% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.9% | 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 Douglas
About 5 of every 100 Douglas residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
Where Douglas’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Douglas on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Douglas.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Douglas is a town in southern Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,983 at the 2020 census. It includes the Douglas State Forest, managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Douglas.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Douglas grades B+ overall, better than 72% of U.S. towns and #116 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A for health, A− for safety and C+ 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 C.
5 notable people were born here, including John R. Thayer and Bowman Brown Law.
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