Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Fitchburg earns a D, 264th of 282 graded towns in Massachusetts, mostly because of schools and safety. Its schools rank behind 81% of the state's. Its crime rate is higher than 75% of U.S. towns, with 216 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. One bright spot: it has 40 miles of trail. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 95% of U.S. towns, with 10 places on the National Register. On health, just 15 of Massachusetts’ 321 towns do worse. Fitchburg is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. On incomes, just 18 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns do worse.
Where Fitchburg beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,151 in 1790, 41,946 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1870 and 8 maps from 1887 on.
10 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Fitchburg is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fitchburg, 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 Fitchburg.
Fitchburg costs less than Ashburnham or any other town next door, but it reports more crime than Leominster and its other graded neighbors and scores below Leominster and its other neighbors on health.
Each of its 5 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its C−, Westminster highest at B.
Its public schools are run by the Fitchburg school district. Two of its 13 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| McKay Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 1–5 | Grades 1–5 | 754 | D |
| Montachusett Regional Vocational TechnicalLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,417 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Its typical home is the least expensive on its borders; Ashburnham is next at $458K.
The typical Fitchburg home is worth about $400,000, up 1.4% in a year, 39% below the Massachusetts typical home. 54% of households own their home in Fitchburg, below both the Massachusetts town median (79%) and the median of U.S. towns (73%). The median rent in Fitchburg is $1,222 a month.
| Fitchburg | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 79% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,222 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Each of the 5 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Leominster (C) to Ashby (A−). At 32.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 93% of Massachusetts’s graded towns. Reported crimes rose from 627 to 797 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
At 5.1 per 1,000 residents, Fitchburg’s violent crime rate is where Massachusetts’ towns sit at 1.4 and U.S. towns at 1.6. Fitchburg’s property crime rate is 13.8 per 1,000 residents. Fitchburg reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 75% report less.
| Fitchburg | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.1 per 1,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13.8 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave Fitchburg for work: only 17% work in town. 16% of Fitchburg residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Leominster (12%), Worcester (6%) and Boston (5%).
| Fitchburg | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $73,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Work from home | 10% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Northern Watershed, at 1,171 acres with 5.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Flat Rock Wildlife Sanctuary | 7.8 mi | 330 |
| 2. Northern Watershed | 5.2 mi | 1,171 |
| 3. Coggshall Park | 4.5 mi | 223 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Fitchburg has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 15° and about 75 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
All 5 graded neighbors score healthier than its C+, from Leominster (B) to Ashby (A).
27% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Fitchburg. Only 7 of the 279 Massachusetts towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have obesity than Fitchburg. 12% of adults have diabetes in Fitchburg.
| Fitchburg | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 33% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 17% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 9.1% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 19% | 25% |
| What stands out | Fitchburg | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.2% | 8.5% |
| More uninsured adults | 8.8% | 5.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 29 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fitchburg.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fitchburg. Close and well known come first.
Big draw39 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
27 mi LakeWalden Pond
23 mi MountainMount Monadnock
30 mi LakeQuabbin Reservoir
39 mi Stadium & arenaHarvard Stadium
35 mi Ancient siteAmerica's StonehengeLake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Monadnock: Jonwmcinenrey, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Quabbin Reservoir: engineerchange, CC BY 2.0 · Harvard Stadium: Nick Allen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · America's Stonehenge: User:Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Fitchburg
About 8 of every 100 Fitchburg residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Massachusetts.
10 places in Fitchburg on the National Register of Historic Places.
49 notable people were born in Fitchburg.
City in Massachusetts, United States
Fitchburg is a city in northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The third-largest city in the county, its population was 41,946 at the 2020 census. Fitchburg State University is located here.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Fitchburg.
All 5 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D; Leominster (C−) is closest. Westminster next door grades higher for schools (B to Fitchburg’s C−) and lower for cost of living (D to C).
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fitchburg | #264 | D | C | C | C− | C+ |
| Leominster | #246 | C− | C− | C | C | B |
| Westminster | #166 | B | D | B | B | A− |
| Lunenburg | #169 | B | D | B+ | B | A− |
| Ashby | #60 | A | B− | A− | B | A |
| Ashburnham | #154 | B | C− | A− | B | B+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fitchburg grades D overall, better than 11% of U.S. towns and #264 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades C+ for health, C for safety and C− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 4.2 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.
49 notable people were born here, including Amerie and Herbert William Conn.
