Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Lenox grades B overall, 156th of 282 graded towns in Massachusetts. It has 36 miles of trail and 35% conserved land. Its schools rank ahead of 86% of Massachusetts towns and residents are healthier than 80% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $595K, 7.8 years of the Pittsfield metro’s $76K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 99% of U.S. towns, with 10 places on the National Register. 35% of the land in Lenox is conserved, above both Massachusetts’ towns (19%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). Its National Register listings include Lenox Library and Lenox Academy. Lenox's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 92% of U.S. towns.
Where Lenox beats most towns.
Lenox Library
Mount, The is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,160 in 1790, 5,095 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1815 and 7 maps from 1888 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 Lenox is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lenox. Close and well known come first.
2 mi TheatreTanglewood
19 mi MountainMount Greylock
7 mi MuseumNorman Rockwell Museum
39 mi National Historic SiteSpringfield Armory National Historic Site14K visitors a year
24 mi MuseumClark Art Institute
30 mi MuseumOlana State Historic SiteTanglewood: Daderot., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Greylock: Jstergis, CC BY 3.0 · Norman Rockwell Museum: User:Rmrfstar, CC BY 2.5 · Springfield Armory National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain · Clark Art Institute: Daderot, Public domain · Olana State Historic Site: Netniks, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lenox, 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 Lenox.
Lenox is a second-home town, draws workers from Pittsfield and beyond and is safe by national standards but not by Massachusetts’s.
3,071 jobs are based in Lenox, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 22.6 minutes, against 29.1 across Massachusetts.
About one in 5 of Lenox’s working residents works in town. Lenox’s average trip to work is 23 minutes, below both the Massachusetts town median (30 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). The median household income in Lenox is $106,000.
| Lenox | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $106,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 8.5% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its A is the best School Grade on its borders; Richmond (B) is next. Its A for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $595K.
Its public schools are run by the Lenox school district. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Lenox Memorial High, with 439 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| MorrisLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 332 | B+ |
| Lenox Memorial HighLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 439 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
16.1% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 3.7% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
Lenox’s median age is 60.1 years. People 65 and older are 40% of residents (18% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 12% of residents (24% statewide). 13% of Lenox residents are under 18.
| Lenox | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 60.1 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 13% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 53% | 47% | 29% |
55% women, 45% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Lenox | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.6% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.8% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.4% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 4.4% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.7% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 21% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 19% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.6% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.4% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.7% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 4.6% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.6% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 25.1% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Its 4,883 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 88% of Massachusetts towns.
36 miles of trail in 23 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, 1,120 acres with 7.6 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary | 7.6 mi | 1,120 |
| 2. Lenox Water Supply Land | 6.9 mi | 936 |
| 3. Yokun South Ridge Reserve | 3.5 mi | 336 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 89% of U.S. communities. Since 2008, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lenox.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Within Massachusetts it is less healthy than 67% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar.
13% of adults binge drink in Lenox. Lenox beats the Massachusetts average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 9.9% of adults smoke cigarettes in Lenox.
| Lenox | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 85% | 82% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 32% | 35% |
| What stands out | Lenox | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 6.8% | 11.1% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.1% | 12.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 14% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Lenox has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 14° and about 77 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 7.8 years of the Pittsfield metro’s $76K median household income, the typical home (about $595K) costs more against local pay than in 78% of Massachusetts towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living.
The typical Lenox home is worth about $595,000, up 3.2% in a year, 9% below the Massachusetts typical home.
| Lenox | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,091 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 79% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 20.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 76% of Massachusetts’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
2 within 15 miles of the center of Lenox
About 5 of every 100 Lenox residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
Where Lenox’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
10 places in Lenox on the National Register of Historic Places.
15 notable people were born in Lenox.
Town in the United States
Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is in Western Massachusetts and part of the Pittsfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,095 at the 2020 census. Lenox is the site of Shakespeare & Company and Tanglewood, summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Lenox includes the villages of New Lenox and Lenox Dale and the census-designated place of Lenox, and is a tourist destination during the summer.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Lenox.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lenox | #156 | B | C− | B− | A | A− |
| Lee | #237 | C | D | B− | C | A− |
| Richmond | — | — | D | — | B | B+ |
| Stockbridge | — | — | C+ | B+ | B− | A− |
| Lenox Dale | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Washington | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Richmond and Stockbridge have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Richmond reports no FBI crime data of its own. Lenox Dale and Washington aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Lenox with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Lenox grades B overall, better than 63% of U.S. towns and #156 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 C−.
Massachusetts has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Lenox 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−.
15 notable people were born here, including Finn Wittrock and James Van Der Zee.
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