Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2 of its places are on the National Register of Historic Places.
A good place to live, if you can afford it. Health is its strong suit (A+). The catch is cost of living (C−) — the typical home is worth about $942K, 8.1 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. Overall, that makes an A+, good for 16th of 282 in Massachusetts. Nationally, it does better than almost every U.S. town. Manchester-by-the-Sea's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 96% of U.S. towns. 78% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more here, above both Massachusetts’ towns (47%) and U.S. towns (29%). History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 99% of U.S. towns, with 3 places on the National Register.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24.
Where Manchester-by-the-Sea beats most towns.
New Hampshire, The| Widest gap | Manchester-by-the-Sea | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 1.8% | 5.2% |
Its founding year, 1629, comes before those of 94% of the Massachusetts towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 965 in 1790, 5,395 in 2020. The archive holds 30 old photos and papers going back to 1905 and 7 maps from 1888 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Manchester-by-the-Sea is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Manchester-by-the-Sea. Close and well known come first.
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw22 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
20 mi AttractionFreedom Trail
30 mi LakeWalden Pond
19 mi MuseumBunker Hill Monument
22 mi MuseumMuseum of Fine Arts Boston477K visitors a yearFenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bunker Hill Monument: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Museum of Fine Arts Boston: Martin~jawiki at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Manchester-by-the-Sea, 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 Manchester-by-the-Sea.
Manchester-by-the-Sea reports less crime than Wenham or any other graded neighbor and has less no health insurance than most of Massachusetts, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Its widest gap with Massachusetts is no health insurance: 1.8% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 5.2% statewide.
Only 8 of the 279 Massachusetts towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Manchester-by-the-Sea. For adults in the town, the share who report frequent mental distress is 11%. This Massachusetts town does better than the Massachusetts average on 21 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 1.
| Manchester-by-the-Sea | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 16% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 33% | 33% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 6% | 11% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 33% | 36% |
| What stands out | Manchester-by-the-Sea | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 1.8% | 5.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 4.4% | 12.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.5% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $942K.
Of its 5 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason. The public schools here belong to the Manchester Essex Regional school district. The largest public high school is Manchester Essex Regional High School, with 392 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester Memorial ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 304 | A |
| Manchester Essex Regional High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 392 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
The biggest place to walk is Manchester Essex Woods, 321 acres with 5.8 miles of trail. Trails run 43 miles in 37 parks and preserves. For Manchester-by-the-Sea, the concentration of trails is 2.4 miles per square mile.
| Manchester-by-the-Sea | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 2.4 miles per square mile | 1.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9.6% | 19% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Manchester Essex Woods | 5.8 mi | 321 |
| 2. The Monoliths | 2.3 mi | 131 |
| 3. Powder House Hill Reservation | 2 mi | 54 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A tops all 5 graded towns on its borders; Wenham (A) comes closest. Violent crime is rare: 5 reported in 2025, 0.9 per 1,000 residents.
The rate of thefts and burglaries in Manchester-by-the-Sea is 2.2 per 1,000 residents. The level of violent crime in the town is 0.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Manchester-by-the-Sea | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.2 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
84 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 22 properties have flooded more than once.
For Manchester-by-the-Sea, the FEMA risk score is 17 of 100. 84 flood insurance claims have been paid in the town since 1978. Expected losses in Manchester-by-the-Sea break down as 57% from inland flooding and 13% from coastal flooding. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Manchester-by-the-Sea after 11 declared disasters, most recently in 2018.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
27.4% of workers work from home, against 18.6% across Massachusetts.
The top destinations are Boston (21%), Beverly (8%) and Gloucester (5%). Manchester-by-the-Sea’s median household income is $206,000. Most people who work leave Manchester-by-the-Sea to do it: just 11% work in town.
| Manchester-by-the-Sea | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $206,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 2.1% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 9.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The midsummer high for Manchester-by-the-Sea comes to 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
6 within 15 miles of the center of Manchester-by-the-Sea
About 4 of every 100 Manchester-by-the-Sea residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
Coastal flooding makes up 13% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
2 places in Manchester-by-the-Sea on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Manchester-by-the-Sea.
Town in Massachusetts
Manchester-by-the-Sea (also known simply as Manchester, its name prior to 1990) is a coastal town on Cape Ann, in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is known for scenic beaches and vista points. According to the 2020 population census, the population is 5,395. The town lies on the southern side of Cape Ann, at the point where the peninsula meets the mainland. The North Shore was populated by the Agawam people prior to European settlement, which began in 1629, about a decade after an epidemic killed much of the native people. Fishing was the major industry in the town almost from its incorporation in 1645, but in the mid-19th century it began to grow as a popular seaside re…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Manchester-by-the-Sea.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester-by-the-Sea | #16 | A+ | C− | A | A | A+ |
| Beverly | #106 | A− | D | B+ | B− | A |
| Gloucester | #217 | C+ | C− | B | C | B+ |
| Essex | #67 | A | D | B+ | A | A+ |
| Wenham | #1 | A+ | — | A | A− | A+ |
| Hamilton | #44 | A+ | D | A | A− | A+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Manchester-by-the-Sea grades A+ overall, among the top 2% of U.S. towns and #16 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 C−.
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−.
9 notable people were born here, including Sprague Grayden and Josh Gates.
