Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Freetown grades B overall, ranked 162nd of 282 in Massachusetts. It has 74 miles of trail. The median household earns $144K and it is healthier than 83% of U.S. towns. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $593K, 6.8 years of the Providence metro’s $87K median household income. Freetown’s trail density is 2.1 miles per square mile, against 1.8 in Massachusetts’ towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Freetown-Fall River State Forest, at 4,085 acres with 50.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Only 18 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns score lower on civic life.
Where Freetown beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,202 in 1790, a low of 1,329 in 1880, 9,206 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1794 and 8 maps from 1885 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Freetown is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Freetown. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
9 mi MuseumUSS Massachusetts
Big draw39 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw26 mi MuseumThe Breakers
21 mi Ancient siteHMS Endeavour
Big draw39 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner MuseumGillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · USS Massachusetts: USN, Public domain · Fenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · The Breakers: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0 · HMS Endeavour: Samuel Atkins (c.1760-1810), Public domain · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Freetown, 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 Freetown.
Freetown trades workers with New Bedford and other neighbors and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Massachusetts.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Freetown-Fall River State Forest | 50.6 mi | 4,085 |
| 2. Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve Land | 3.4 mi | 638 |
| 3. Copicut Wildlife Management Area | 0.5 mi | 263 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Freetown-Lakeville school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freetown Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 371 | B |
| Crystal Springs Inc. PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 44 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Within Massachusetts it is less healthy than 60% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar. Against the 3,231 U.S. towns with household incomes like Freetown’s, it is less healthy than 62%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
18% of Freetown adults binge drink, above both the Massachusetts town median (17%) and the median of U.S. towns (16%). Freetown beats the Massachusetts average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 29% of adults have obesity in Freetown.
| Freetown | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 28% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.1% | 9.3% | 12% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 3.5% | 3.7% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Freetown | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.5% | 5.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.7% | 12.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.8% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 74% of U.S. communities. Since 1991, 34 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Freetown.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Freetown has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 21° and about 31 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Freetown has about as many jobs (3,968) as working residents, but only 440 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Freetown for work: only 11% work in town. The average trip to work in Freetown is 32 minutes. Jobs based in Freetown grew to 3,968 in 2023, 526 more than in 2013.
| Freetown | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $144,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.7% | 18% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3.1% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Massachusetts average. 40% of Freetown adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. Freetown has grown 2.6% since 2020, to 9,443 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Freetown | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 40% | 47% | 29% |
| Median age | 40.9 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 18% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 20% | 22% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.5 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Freetown | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.7% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.4% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.2% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.5% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.2% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.4% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.8% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.1% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.7% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.6% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.5% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 15% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.8% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.1% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.9% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Freetown’s median rent is $1,891 a month. Typical home values rose 4.8% in the year to September 2026.
| Freetown | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,891 a month | $1,682 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 86% | 79% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Massachusetts has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Freetown sits closer to the middle.
| Freetown | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.8 per 1,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.2 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
3 within 15 miles of the center of Freetown
About 4 of every 100 Freetown residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
2 places in Freetown on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Freetown.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Freetown is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,206 at the 2020 census. Freetown is one of the oldest communities in the United States, having been settled by the Pilgrims and their descendants in the latter half of the 17th century. The town once included the city of Fall River (1659–1803), and a portion of Acushnet (1659–1815). The town celebrated its tricentennial in 1983. Freetown is currently divided into two villages, which historically developed almost entirely independent from one another: Assonet and East Freetown. Freetown lies on an old 18th century road and along old Indian trails from Freetown to Boston. Freetown is home to the Freetown-…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Freetown.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Freetown grades B overall, better than 61% of U.S. towns and #162 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A− for health, B− for safety and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes, by national standards. Massachusetts has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Freetown sits nearer the middle.
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−.
7 notable people were born here, including Marcus Morton and Nathaniel B. Borden.
_underway_c1944.jpg){kind=link}
