Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Lunenburg grades B overall, ranked 169th of 282 in Massachusetts. It has 63 miles of trail. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 81% of the country and the median household earns $113K. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $544K, 5.7 years of the Worcester metro’s $96K median household income. Lunenburg’s trail density is 2.3 miles per square mile, against 1.8 in Massachusetts’ towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Lunenburg has 1 place on the National Register. Cowdrey Conservation Area, at 312 acres with 4.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Lunenburg beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,277 in 1790, 11,782 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1800 and 7 maps from 1893 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 Lunenburg is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lunenburg. Close and well known come first.
Big draw36 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw38 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
Big draw36 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
22 mi LakeWalden Pond
28 mi MountainMount Monadnock
37 mi AttractionFreedom TrailFenway 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 · Mount Monadnock: Jonwmcinenrey, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lunenburg, 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 Lunenburg.
Lunenburg is safe by national standards but not by Massachusetts’s and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Massachusetts; it also has commutes longer than most of Massachusetts.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lane Forest | 5.3 mi | 169 |
| 2. Table Rock Conservation Area | 5 mi | 259 |
| 3. Cowdrey Conservation Area | 4.7 mi | 312 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Lunenburg school district. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Lunenburg High, with 452 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lunenburg Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 382 | B− |
| Lunenburg HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 452 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Within Massachusetts it is less healthy than 65% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar. Against the 6,768 U.S. towns with household incomes like Lunenburg’s, it is healthier than 64%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
18% of Lunenburg adults binge drink, above both Massachusetts’ towns (17%) and U.S. towns (16%). 26% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Lunenburg. Lunenburg beats the Massachusetts average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Lunenburg | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 24% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 82% | 79% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 28% | 35% |
| What stands out | Lunenburg | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.8% | 5.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.5% | 11.1% |
| 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 82% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Lunenburg since 2008.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The average commute for its 5,138 working residents takes 36.1 minutes, against 29.1 across Massachusetts. Jobs based here grew from 1,806 in 2013 to 2,436.
Most working residents leave Lunenburg for work: only 8% work in town. The average trip to work in Lunenburg is 36 minutes. Since 2013, Lunenburg has added 630 jobs, to 2,436 in 2023.
| Lunenburg | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 36 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4.2% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $113,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 16% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 15% of residents (24% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 46% of residents (39% statewide). 44% of Lunenburg adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. Lunenburg has grown 2.2% since 2020, to 12,043 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Lunenburg | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 44% | 47% | 29% |
| Median age | 43.2 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 21% | 20% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 18% | 19% | 18% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.4 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Lunenburg | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.5% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.6% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.1% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.1% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16.3% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.4% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.1% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.7% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.2% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.6% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.9% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.6% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Lunenburg has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 15° and about 75 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 13 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 54% of Massachusetts’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 9 reported in 2025, 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
Lunenburg’s violent crime rate is 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Lunenburg | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10.4 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Lunenburg home is worth about $545,000, up 2.2% in a year, 17% below the Massachusetts typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of Lunenburg
About 4 of every 100 Lunenburg residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
10,086 counted in 2010 and 11,782 in 2020; an estimated 12,043 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
11 notable people were born in Lunenburg.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Lunenburg is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,782 at the 2020 census. It contains the census-designated place of the same name.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Lunenburg.
Fitchburg next door grades lower for schools (C− to Lunenburg’s B) and higher for cost of living (C to D).
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Lunenburg grades B overall, better than 60% of U.S. towns and #169 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 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.
11 notable people were born here, including Earle Brown and William Austin.
