Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Few places in the country grade higher. Hopkinton earns an A+, 12th among Massachusetts's 282 graded towns. It is among the healthiest towns in the country on CDC estimates, the median household earns $223K, and its schools rank ahead of 97% of Massachusetts towns. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $950K for a typical one and 8.2 times the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. 78% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Hopkinton, above both Massachusetts’ towns (47%) and U.S. towns (29%). Only 2 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns score higher on hazard risk. The biggest place to walk is Hopkinton State Park, 839 acres with 8 miles of trail.
Where Hopkinton beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Hopkinton | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.6% | 11.9% |
Census counts: 1,317 in 1790, a low of 1,317 in 1790, 18,758 in 2020. The archive holds 23 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 8 maps from 1886 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Hopkinton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Hopkinton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw20 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
Big draw24 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
18 mi LakeWalden Pond
26 mi AttractionFreedom TrailGillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hopkinton, 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 Hopkinton.
Hopkinton has schools in the top 5% of Massachusetts and trades workers with Boston and other neighbors, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Massachusetts.
104 miles of trail in 65 parks and preserves. The trail density in Hopkinton is 3.8 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Whitehall State Park | 10.1 mi | 232 |
| 2. Hopkinton State Park | 8 mi | 839 |
| 3. Upton State Forest | 4.6 mi | 374 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A+ ranks #4 of the 283 Massachusetts towns we grade for schools. Its A+ for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $950K.
Its public schools are run by the Hopkinton school district. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Hopkinton High, with 1,267 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hopkinton Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 996 | A |
| Hopkinton HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,267 | A+ |
| Hopkins Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades 4–5 | Grades 4–5 | 682 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Massachusetts is tooth loss: 5.6% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.9% statewide. Against the 678 U.S. towns with household incomes like Hopkinton’s, it is healthier than 83%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
26% of Hopkinton adults have high blood pressure. Among 279 Massachusetts towns, just 8 have a lower share of adults who have diabetes than Hopkinton. 23% of Hopkinton adults have obesity.
| Hopkinton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.9% | 12% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 28% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 32% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Hopkinton | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.6% | 11.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 2.5% | 5.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Hopkinton’s FEMA risk score is 3 of 100. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Hopkinton since 2024.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Violent crime is rare: 15 reported in 2025, 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
At 8.2 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income, the typical home (about $950K) costs more against local pay than in 83% of Massachusetts towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. 64.4% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 51.8% across Massachusetts.
87% of households own their home in Hopkinton. The typical Hopkinton home is worth about $950,000, up 3.1% in a year, 45% above the Massachusetts typical home. Only 9 of the 278 Massachusetts towns we compare have a higher median rent than Hopkinton.
| Hopkinton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,641 a month | $1,682 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 87% | 79% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Hopkinton has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 17° and about 48 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Hopkinton has about as many jobs (9,518) as working residents, but only 901 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 36.2 minutes, against 29.1 across Massachusetts.
Most working residents leave Hopkinton for work: only 10% work in town. Jobs based in Hopkinton fell to 9,518 in 2023, 1,588 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Boston (15%), Framingham (5%) and Cambridge (4%).
| Hopkinton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 34% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $223,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 36 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 2.5% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
12 within 15 miles of the center of Hopkinton
About 3 of every 100 Hopkinton residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
14,925 counted in 2010 and 18,758 in 2020; an estimated 19,866 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 5.9% since 2020, after 25.7% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
16 notable people were born in Hopkinton.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Hopkinton is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, 25 miles (40 km) west of Boston. The town is notable as the starting point of the Boston Marathon, held annually on Patriots' Day each April, and as the headquarters for the Dell EMC corporation. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 18,758, a population growth rate faster than any other municipality in the commonwealth. The U.S. Census recognizes the central village within the town as a census-designated place, with a population of 2,651 at the 2020 census. Hopkinton also includes the village of Woodville, which was established as a historic district in 2005.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Hopkinton.
Upton next door grades lower for schools (B to Hopkinton’s A+) and higher for cost of living (C to D).
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hopkinton | #12 | A+ | D | A | A+ | A+ |
| Southborough | #9 | A+ | D | A | A+ | A+ |
| Cordaville | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Upton | #82 | A | C | A | B | A |
| Westborough | #83 | A− | D− | B | A | A+ |
| Ashland | #55 | A | D | A− | A− | A+ |
| Holliston | #38 | A+ | C− | A+ | A− | A+ |
| Milford | #245 | C− | D | B− | D | B |
Cordaville isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Hopkinton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Hopkinton grades A+ overall, among the top 2% of U.S. towns and #12 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A+ for health, A 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.
16 notable people were born here, including Frank Merrill and Willard Richards.
