Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Groton is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, 7th among Massachusetts's 282 graded towns. It is healthier than 97% of U.S. towns, it reports less crime per resident than 93% of U.S. towns, and its public schools beat 87% of Massachusetts towns on state tests and graduation. Its lowest mark, a C+, is in cost of living. Groton’s median household income is $193,000, above both Massachusetts’ towns ($120,000) and U.S. towns ($80,000). Only 17 of Massachusetts’ 324 towns score higher on cost of living. Its National Register listings include Gov. George S. Boutwell House and Groton Inn.
Where Groton beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,840 in 1790, a low of 1,802 in 1800, 11,315 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1755 and 6 maps from 1893 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Groton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Groton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw30 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw39 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
17 mi LakeWalden Pond
Big draw30 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
31 mi AttractionFreedom Trail
28 mi Stadium & arenaHarvard StadiumFenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Harvard Stadium: Nick Allen, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Groton, 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 Groton.
Groton reports less crime than Westford or any other graded neighbor, keeps more of its land conserved than most of Massachusetts and has less tooth loss than most of Massachusetts.
Its 7,167 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 85% of Massachusetts towns. Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #3 of 283 in Massachusetts.
Groton’s trail density is 4.6 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Wharton Plantation, 678 acres with 6.6 miles of trail. 153 miles of trail in 129 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wharton Plantation | 6.6 mi | 678 |
| 2. Rocky Hill Wildlife Sanctuary | 5.7 mi | 411 |
| 3. J. Harry Rich State Forest | 5 mi | 386 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Groton-Dunstable school district. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Groton Dunstable Regional, with 659 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Groton Dunstable Regional MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 739 | A− |
| Groton Dunstable RegionalLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 659 | A+ |
| Florence Roche SchoolTop results in townGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 615 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Massachusetts is tooth loss: 5.4% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.9% statewide. Against the 1,061 U.S. towns with household incomes like Groton’s, it is healthier than 65%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
29% of Groton adults sleep under 7 hours. Groton beats the Massachusetts average on 19 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 24% of Groton adults have obesity.
| Groton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 33% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 28% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 19% | 25% |
| What stands out | Groton | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.4% | 11.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 2.8% | 5.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.4% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A tops all 6 graded towns on its borders; Westford (A) comes closest. Reported crimes rose from 27 to 36 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Groton is 2.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Groton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.1 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 81% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Groton since 2010.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
27.5% of workers work from home, against 18.6% across Massachusetts.
Most working residents leave Groton for work: only 9% work in town. 28% of workers work from home in Groton. The top destinations are Boston (10%), Westford (4%) and Cambridge (4%).
| Groton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 28% | 18% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3.8% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Groton has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 16° and about 53 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Groton home is worth about $777,000, up 2.1% in a year, 19% above the Massachusetts typical home.
| Groton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 89% | 79% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,458 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
6 within 15 miles of the center of Groton
About 6 of every 100 Groton residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
33.4% of the town is conserved land, across 129 parks and preserves.
7 places in Groton on the National Register of Historic Places.
19 notable people were born in Groton.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Groton is a town in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, within the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The population was 11,315 at the 2020 census. It contains the census-designated place of the same name. An affluent bedroom community roughly 45 miles from Boston, Groton has a large population of professional workers, many of whom work in Boston's tech industry. It is loosely connected to Boston by highways (Route 2) and commuter rail (the MBTA Fitchburg Line). The town has a long history dating back to the colonial era. It was a battlefield in King Philip's War and Queen Anne's War, and several Grotonians played notable roles in the American Revolution (including W…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Groton.
At #7 in MA, it grades higher overall than all 7 graded towns on its borders; Dunstable (A+) comes closest.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groton | #7 | A+ | C+ | A | A | A+ |
| Shirley | #105 | A− | C+ | A− | C+ | A |
| Pepperell | #97 | A− | C | A− | B | A |
| Ayer | #123 | B+ | C+ | B | C+ | A− |
| Dunstable | #27 | A+ | C+ | A | A | A+ |
| Westford | #37 | A+ | D | A | A | A+ |
| Tyngsborough | #220 | C+ | D | — | C+ | A |
| Littleton | #43 | A+ | C− | A | A− | A+ |
Tyngsborough reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Groton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Groton grades A+ overall, among the top 2% of U.S. towns and #7 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A+ for health, A for safety and A for schools.
That is 6.7 years of the area's median household income ($115,863 across the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 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+.
19 notable people were born here, including Edmund Charles Tarbell and William Prescott.
