Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Hanover grades A− overall, ranked 90th of 282 in Massachusetts. It has 24 miles of trail. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 92% of the country and the median household earns $190K. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $824K, 7.1 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. Hanover’s median household income is $190,000, above both Massachusetts’ towns ($120,000) and U.S. towns ($80,000). Its National Register listings include Stetson House and Hanover Center Historic District.
Where Hanover beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,084 in 1790, 14,833 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 1907 and 7 maps from 1885 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Hanover is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Hanover. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw21 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw19 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
19 mi AttractionFreedom Trail
33 mi MuseumUSS Massachusetts
19 mi MuseumMuseum of Fine Arts Boston477K visitors a yearFenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0 · USS Massachusetts: USN, Public domain · Museum of Fine Arts Boston: Martin~jawiki at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hanover, 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 Hanover.
Hanover trades workers with Boston and other neighbors, has less tooth loss than most of Massachusetts and is safe by national standards but not by Massachusetts’s.
Its widest gap with Massachusetts is tooth loss: 5.9% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.9% statewide. Within Massachusetts it is healthier than 65% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar.
17% of adults get no exercise outside work in Hanover. Hanover beats the Massachusetts average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 18% of adults binge drink in Hanover.
| Hanover | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 19% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 28% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 19% |
| What stands out | Hanover | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.9% | 11.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.2% | 5.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Hanover school district. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is South Shore Vocational Technical High, with 685 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hanover MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 826 | B+ |
| South Shore Vocational Technical HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 685 | B+ |
| Hanover HighTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 663 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 85% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 10 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Hanover.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The trail density in Hanover is 1.6 miles per square mile. Colby/Phillips Property, at 146 acres with 1.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Iron Mine Brook Nature Preserve | 2 mi | 77 |
| 2. Colby/Phillips Property | 1.7 mi | 146 |
| 3. Plain St. Site | 1.3 mi | 55 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
65% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 51.8% across Massachusetts. The median property tax bill is $9,342, against $5,992 across Massachusetts, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Hanover’s median rent is $1,845 a month. Typical home values rose 5% in the year to September 2026. 85% of Hanover households own their home.
| Hanover | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,845 a month | $1,682 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 85% | 79% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 11.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 51% of Massachusetts’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 14 reported in 2025, 0.9 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Hanover has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 20° and about 51 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median household earns $189,803, against $103,960 across Massachusetts, one input to its A− for jobs and income.
Children under 18 are 26% of residents (19% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (24% statewide). 57% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 47% across Massachusetts.
| Hanover | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 57% | 47% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 26% | 20% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 19% | 18% |
| Median age | 41.8 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.8 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Hanover | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.6% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 14.6% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.3% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.9% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 16.4% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.2% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.8% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.3% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.9% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 17.1% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 10.9% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.3% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 34.2% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 22.7% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Hanover has about as many jobs (7,334) as working residents, but only 736 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Hanover for work: only 10% work in town. Jobs based in Hanover grew to 7,334 in 2023, 914 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Boston (23%), Quincy (5%) and Norwell (4%).
| Hanover | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 20% | 18% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 4.8% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
6 within 15 miles of the center of Hanover
About 4 of every 100 Hanover residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
3 places in Hanover on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Hanover.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Hanover is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 14,833 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Hanover.
Rockland next door grades lower for schools (C+ to Hanover’s A−) and higher for cost of living (C to D).
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanover | #90 | A− | D | B+ | A− | A |
| Norwell | #57 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Pembroke | #70 | A | D | A | B+ | A |
| Hanson | #133 | B+ | C− | A− | C+ | A− |
| North Pembroke | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rockland | #139 | B+ | C | B | C+ | B+ |
Norwell reports no FBI crime data of its own. North Pembroke isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Hanover with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Hanover grades A− overall, better than 83% of U.S. towns and #90 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.
7 notable people were born here, including Colin White and Donnell Young.
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