Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Dracut grades B overall, 170th among Massachusetts's 282 graded towns. It is healthier than 84% of U.S. towns. The median household earns $114K. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $570K, 4.9 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. On history, just 7 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns do worse. Dracut’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile, below Massachusetts’ towns (1.8) but above U.S. towns (0.4). On the outdoors, just 26 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns do worse.
Where Dracut beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,217 in 1790, a low of 1,217 in 1790, 32,617 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1889 and 8 maps from 1886 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Dracut is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Dracut. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw26 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
17 mi LakeWalden Pond
25 mi AttractionFreedom Trail
23 mi Stadium & arenaHarvard Stadium
26 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 Dracut, 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 Dracut.
Dracut 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 58% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar. Against the 6,596 U.S. towns with household incomes like Dracut’s, it is healthier than 69%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
26% of adults have obesity in Dracut, against 28% in Massachusetts’ towns and 35% across U.S. towns. 30% of Dracut adults have high blood pressure. Dracut beats the Massachusetts average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0.
| Dracut | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 28% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 33% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 24% | 23% |
| What stands out | Dracut | MA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults screened for colon cancer | 71.5% | 68.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Dracut school district. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Dracut Senior High, with 792 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Justus C. Richardson Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 916 | C+ |
| Dracut Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 792 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Dracut for work: only 8% work in town. Since 2013, Dracut has added 1,118 jobs, to 6,322 in 2023. The average trip to work in Dracut is 30 minutes.
| Dracut | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $114,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 11% | 18% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.8% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Dracut has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 16° and about 67 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
21 miles of trail in 25 parks and preserves. Lowell Dracut Tyngsborough State Forest, at 564 acres with 6.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lowell Dracut Tyngsborough State Forest | 6.4 mi | 564 |
| 2. East Richardson Preserve | 1.7 mi | 44 |
| 3. Colburn Conservation Area | 1 mi | 19 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 13 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 54% of Massachusetts’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 316 to 176 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Dracut’s property crime rate is 4.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Dracut | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.1 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
The typical Dracut home is worth about $570,000, up 1.4% in a year, 13% below the Massachusetts typical home.
| Dracut | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,839 a month | $1,682 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 80% | 79% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 57% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 20 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Dracut.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
9 within 15 miles of the center of Dracut
About 5 of every 100 Dracut residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
29,457 counted in 2010 and 32,617 in 2020; an estimated 32,783 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 10.7% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
8 notable people were born in Dracut.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Dracut DRAY-kət is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, the town's population was 32,617, making it the second most populous town in Massachusetts with an open town meeting system of governance. The town covers a total area of 21.36 square miles, 0.5 square miles of which are water.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Dracut.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dracut | #170 | B | C− | B+ | C | A− |
| Andover | #45 | A+ | D | A− | A | A+ |
| Tyngsborough | #220 | C+ | D | — | C+ | A |
| Lowell | #260 | D | C | C− | D | B |
| Tewksbury | #157 | B | D | B− | B | A |
| Methuen | #227 | C+ | C− | B | C | — |
Tyngsborough reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Dracut with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Dracut grades B overall, better than 60% of U.S. towns and #170 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A− for health, B+ for safety and C for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
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−.
8 notable people were born here, including Wendell Corey and Joseph Bradley Varnum.
