Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Marlborough's standout: natural-hazard risk is low. Overall it grades C, 242nd of 282 graded towns in Massachusetts. It is healthier than 75% of U.S. towns and it has 58 miles of trail. Its weakest subject is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $570K, 4.9 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 90% of U.S. towns, with 16 places on the National Register. Marlborough’s trail density is 2.6 miles per square mile, above both Massachusetts’ towns (1.8) and U.S. towns (0.4). On safety, just 24 of Massachusetts’ 300 towns do worse. Its National Register listings include Warren Block and Marlborough Brook Filter Beds.
Where Marlborough beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,554 in 1790, 41,793 in 2020. The archive holds 17 old photos and papers going back to 1675 and 7 maps from 1887 on.
16 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Marlborough takes its name from Marlborough in Wiltshire, England, 3,230 miles across the Atlantic.
UKUK editionMarlborough, settled in 1657, takes its name from Marlborough, a town in Wiltshire, England.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Marlborough is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for hazard risk (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 13%), so the C overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Marlborough. Close and well known come first.
Big draw23 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw23 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw26 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
12 mi LakeWalden Pond
Big draw23 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
25 mi AttractionFreedom TrailFenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Marlborough, 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 Marlborough.
Marlborough draws workers from Worcester and beyond and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Massachusetts; it also reports more crime than Framingham and its other graded neighbors.
The biggest place to walk is Sudbury Reservoir Watershed, 816 acres with 8.1 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sudbury Reservoir Watershed | 8.1 mi | 816 |
| 2. Callahan State Park | 6.8 mi | 280 |
| 3. Cider Knoll Conservation Land | 2.9 mi | 108 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Marlborough school district. Three of its 13 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Assabet Valley Vocational High School, with 1,144 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 LT Charles W. Whitcomb SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 965 | C− |
| Assabet Valley Vocational High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,144 | B |
| Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter SchoolTop results in townGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 970 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
34,160 jobs are based in Marlborough, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 24,852 in 2013 to 34,160.
Most working residents leave Marlborough for work: only 17% work in town. Jobs based in Marlborough grew to 34,160 in 2023, 9,308 more than in 2013. Marlborough’s median household income is $92,000, against $120,000 in Massachusetts’ towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns.
| Marlborough | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $92,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 16% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The FEMA risk score in Marlborough is 3 of 100. Since 1979, 11 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Marlborough.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Within Massachusetts it is less healthy than 74% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar.
36% of Marlborough adults feel lonely. Marlborough beats the Massachusetts average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 27% of Marlborough adults have obesity.
| Marlborough | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 33% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 28% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 24% | 23% |
| What stands out | Marlborough | MA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 9.2% | 7.6% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 13.1% | 11.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Each of the 6 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Framingham (C+) to Northborough (A+). At 27.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 91% of Massachusetts’s graded towns.
Marlborough’s violent crime rate is 4.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Marlborough | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.8 per 1,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.2 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Marlborough has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 17° and about 46 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
56% of households own their home in Marlborough. The typical Marlborough home is worth about $571,000, about the same as a year ago, 13% below the Massachusetts typical home.
| Marlborough | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 79% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,871 a month | $1,682 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Massachusetts average. Marlborough has grown 2.4% since 2020, to 42,772 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 41% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 47% across Massachusetts.
| Marlborough | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 37.5 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 41% | 47% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 20% | 22% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.7 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 37.0, men 38.0.
| Marlborough | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.2% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.6% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.9% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.9% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.2% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.8% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.5% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.6% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.3% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 12.1% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.3% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.2% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.8% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.3% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.2% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
12 within 15 miles of the center of Marlborough
About 4 of every 100 Marlborough residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
Where Marlborough’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
16 places in Marlborough on the National Register of Historic Places.
29 notable people were born in Marlborough.
City in Massachusetts, United States
Marlborough is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 41,793 at the 2020 census. Marlborough became a prosperous industrial town in the 19th century and made the transition to high technology industry in the late 20th century after the construction of the Massachusetts Turnpike. It is part of the Worcester metropolitan area. Marlborough was declared a town in 1660, and was incorporated as a city in 1890 when it changed its municipal charter from a New England town meeting system to a mayor–council government.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Marlborough.
All 6 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C; Framingham (C) is closest.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marlborough | #242 | C | D | C | C− | A− |
| Northborough | #47 | A | D | A+ | A− | A+ |
| Southborough | #9 | A+ | D | A | A+ | A+ |
| Berlin | #78 | A | D− | A | A− | A |
| Hudson | #138 | B+ | C | B | C | A |
| Framingham | #235 | C | D | C+ | D | A− |
| Sudbury | #4 | A+ | C+ | A | A+ | A+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Marlborough grades C overall, better than 28% of U.S. towns and #242 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 Marlborough 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.
29 notable people were born here, including Crystal Eastman and Joey Graceffa.
