Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Malden's standout: few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. Overall it grades C, 236th of 282 graded towns in Massachusetts. It is healthier than 79% of U.S. towns and it has 7 miles of trail. Its weakest subject is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $668K for a typical one and 5.8 times the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 92% of U.S. towns, with 12 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include Converse Memorial Building and Common Burying Ground at Sandy Bank. Malden’s trail density is 1.3 miles per square mile, where Massachusetts’ towns sit at 1.8 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Only 9 of the 283 Massachusetts towns we compare have a lower share of residents 65 or older than Malden.
Where Malden beats most towns.
Converse Memorial Building
Erle Stanley Gardner
Converse Memorial Building is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,033 in 1790, 66,263 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1649 and 6 maps from 1893 on.
12 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Malden is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 8%), so the C overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Malden. Close and well known come first.
Big draw6 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw7 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Big draw26 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
5 mi AttractionFreedom Trail
4 mi MuseumBunker Hill Monument
6 mi Stadium & arenaHarvard StadiumFenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bunker Hill Monument: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Harvard Stadium: Nick Allen, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Malden, 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 Malden.
Malden is mostly renters, is safe by national standards but not by Massachusetts’s and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Massachusetts.
Within Massachusetts it is less healthy than 70% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar.
38% of adults feel lonely in Malden, above both Massachusetts’ towns (33%) and U.S. towns (33%). 25% of Malden adults have obesity. Malden beats the Massachusetts average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10.
| Malden | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 33% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 28% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 9.1% | 14% |
| What stands out | Malden | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.9% | 8.5% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.8% | 5.8% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 16.5% | 12.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Malden school district. Three of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| SalemwoodLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 1,033 | C− |
| Malden HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,890 | B |
| Mystic Valley Regional Charter SchoolTop results in townGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 1,698 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Malden for work: only 7% work in town. Malden’s average trip to work is 34 minutes. The top destinations are Boston (34%), Cambridge (8%) and Somerville (3%).
| Malden | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 20% | 18% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $101,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
6.7 miles of trail in 23 parks and preserves. Middlesex Fells Reservation, at 60 acres with 1.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Middlesex Fells Reservation | 1.9 mi | 60 |
| 2. Pine Banks Park | 0.5 mi | 55 |
| 3. High Rock Memorial Park | 0.4 mi | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Malden has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Malden is 82°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Only 41.3% of households own their home, against 62.5% across Massachusetts.
Adults 18 to 34 are 31% of residents (24% statewide); people 65 and older are 13% of residents (18% statewide). 45% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Malden.
| Malden | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 35.8 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 18% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 45% | 47% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.6 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women. Among residents 18 to 24, 61% are men (MA 49%). Median age: women 38.3, men 33.4.
| Malden | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.5% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.7% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.6% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 21.9% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.3% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.2% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.7% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.8% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.2% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 14% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.1% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 12.2% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.6% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.2% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.8% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
At 22.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 82% of Massachusetts’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 1,078 to 933 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 53% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 57 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Malden.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Malden home is worth about $668,000, up 1.8% in a year, close to the Massachusetts typical home. Only 9 of the 283 Massachusetts towns we compare have a lower share of households owning their home than Malden.
| Malden | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 41% | 79% | 73% |
| Median rent | $2,204 a month | $1,682 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
54 within 15 miles of the center of Malden
About 9 of every 100 Malden residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Massachusetts.
59,450 counted in 2010 and 66,263 in 2020; an estimated 66,370 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 11.5% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
12 places in Malden on the National Register of Historic Places.
63 notable people were born in Malden.
City in Massachusetts, United States
Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 66,263 people.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Malden.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Malden grades C overall, better than 34% of U.S. towns and #236 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A− for health, C+ for safety and C for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Massachusetts has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Malden 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 D.
63 notable people were born here, including Erle Stanley Gardner and Jack Albertson.
