Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Essex grades A overall, 67th among Massachusetts's 282 graded towns. It has 38 miles of trail and 27% conserved land. Residents are healthier than 97% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and the median household earns $157K. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $898K, 7.7 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 93% of U.S. towns, with 5 places on the National Register. 69% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Essex, where Massachusetts’ towns sit at 47% and U.S. towns at 29%. On hazard risk, just 30 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns do worse. Essex is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns.
Where Essex beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,585 in 1850, a low of 1,014 in 1870, 3,675 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1700 and 8 maps from 1888 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Essex is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Essex. Close and well known come first.
Big draw26 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw27 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
24 mi AttractionFreedom Trail
32 mi LakeWalden Pond
27 mi MuseumMuseum of Fine Arts Boston477K visitors a year
24 mi MuseumBunker Hill MonumentFenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Museum of Fine Arts Boston: Martin~jawiki at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bunker Hill Monument: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Essex, 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 Essex.
Essex is safe by national standards but not by Massachusetts’s; it also carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Massachusetts (mostly coastal flooding) and has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Massachusetts.
Its widest gap with Massachusetts is no health insurance: 2.6% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 5.2% statewide.
28% of Essex adults feel lonely. Essex beats the Massachusetts average on 16 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 13% of Essex adults report frequent mental distress.
| Essex | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.6% | 11% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 19% |
| What stands out | Essex | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 2.6% | 5.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.6% | 12.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.4% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $898K.
Its public schools are run by the Manchester Essex Regional school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essex ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 215 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
38 miles of trail in 18 parks and preserves. Essex’s trail density is 2.4 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Manchester Essex Woods, 889 acres with 11.6 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Manchester Essex Woods | 11.6 mi | 889 |
| 2. Crane Wildlife Refuge | 3.8 mi | 697 |
| 3. Warren Weld Woodland | 1.3 mi | 91 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 7.7 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income, the typical home (about $898K) costs more against local pay than in 78% of Massachusetts towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
The median rent in Essex is $1,964 a month. The typical Essex home is worth about $898,000, up 1.7% in a year, 37% above the Massachusetts typical home.
| Essex | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,964 a month | $1,682 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 75% | 79% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 10.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 53% of Massachusetts’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Essex has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 80°, January nights drop to 20° and about 51 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Essex for work: only 15% work in town. Jobs based in Essex grew to 1,373 in 2023, 254 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Gloucester (9%), Beverly (9%) and Boston (9%).
| Essex | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $157,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 8.1% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 93% of Massachusetts towns, with expected losses of about $439 per resident a year; that rating is what its C for hazard risk is built on. 85 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 10 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1978, 85 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Essex.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
6 within 15 miles of the center of Essex
About 2 of every 100 Essex residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
Coastal flooding makes up 46% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
5 places in Essex on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Essex.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Essex is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 26 miles (42 km) north of Boston and 13 miles (21 km) southeast of Newburyport. It is known for its former role as a center of shipbuilding. The population was 3,675 at the 2020 census. The central village areas of Essex and South Essex make up the census-designated place of Essex.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Essex.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essex | #67 | A | D | B+ | A | A+ |
| Ipswich | #59 | A | C− | A | B+ | A |
| Hamilton | #44 | A+ | D | A | A− | A+ |
| Gloucester | #217 | C+ | C− | B | C | B+ |
| Manchester-by-the-Sea | #16 | A+ | C− | A | A | A+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Essex grades A overall, better than 90% of U.S. towns and #67 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A+ for health, B+ for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
3 notable people were born here, including Willfred Weymouth Lufkin and Fletcher Low.
