Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Marshfield grades A overall, ranked 74th of 282 in Massachusetts. It has 64 miles of trail. It reports less crime per resident than 90% of U.S. towns and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 90% of the country. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $796K, 6.9 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. Marshfield’s trail density is 2.0 miles per square mile, where Massachusetts’ towns sit at 1.8 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Its National Register listings include Thomas-Webster Estate and Isaac Winslow House. Marshfield's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 80% of U.S. towns.
Where Marshfield beats most towns.
Webster, Daniel, Law Office and Library is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,269 in 1790, 25,825 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1848 and 7 maps from 1885 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Marshfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Marshfield. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw25 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
37 mi MuseumUSS Massachusetts
25 mi AttractionFreedom Trail
25 mi MuseumMuseum of Fine Arts Boston477K visitors a yearFenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · USS Massachusetts: USN, Public domain · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Museum of Fine Arts Boston: Martin~jawiki at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Marshfield, 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 Marshfield.
Marshfield sees little violent crime and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Massachusetts; it also carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Massachusetts (mostly inland flooding).
Violent crime is rare: 13 reported in 2025, 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
At 1.9 per 1,000 residents, Marshfield’s property crime rate is below both Massachusetts’ towns (4.9) and U.S. towns (9.9). The violent crime rate in Marshfield is 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Marshfield | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.9 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Marshfield school district. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Furnace Brook MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 799 | B+ |
| Marshfield HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,119 | A |
| Gov Edward WinslowTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 357 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Within Massachusetts it is healthier than 61% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar. Its widest gap with Massachusetts is no health insurance: 3.1% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 5.2% statewide.
83% of Marshfield adults had a checkup this year. Marshfield beats the Massachusetts average on 12 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 18% of Marshfield adults get no exercise outside work.
| Marshfield | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 82% | 79% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 19% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 33% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 33% | 33% |
| What stands out | Marshfield | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.1% | 5.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.8% | 12.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.9% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The biggest place to walk is Carolina Hill, 781 acres with 21.6 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Carolina Hill | 21.6 mi | 781 |
| 2. Furnace Brook Watershed | 5 mi | 357 |
| 3. Nelson Memorial Forest | 3.3 mi | 176 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Marshfield’s average trip to work is 35 minutes. Most working residents leave Marshfield for work: only 15% work in town. 25% of workers work from home in Marshfield.
| Marshfield | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 25% | 18% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 35 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $126,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 9.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
68.1% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 51.8% across Massachusetts.
Typical home values rose 4.6% in the year to September 2026.
| Marshfield | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,772 a month | $1,682 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 81% | 79% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Marshfield has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 21° and about 51 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (24% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 43% of residents (39% statewide). Marshfield has grown 3.9% since 2020, to 26,826 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 52% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 47% across Massachusetts.
| Marshfield | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 52% | 47% | 29% |
| Median age | 45.9 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 20% | 20% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 19% | 18% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Marshfield | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.4% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.2% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.4% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.5% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.5% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.9% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.8% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.9% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.3% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.3% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 19.7% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.2% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.4% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 32% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 20.4% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 91% of Massachusetts towns, with expected losses of about $311 per resident a year; that rating is what its C+ for hazard risk is built on. 1,466 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 186 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1978, 1,466 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Marshfield.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Marshfield
About 4 of every 100 Marshfield residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
Coastal flooding makes up 41% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
6 places in Marshfield on the National Register of Historic Places.
17 notable people were born in Marshfield.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Marshfield is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on Massachusetts's South Shore. The population was 25,825 at the 2020 census. It includes the census-designated places (CDPs) of Marshfield, Marshfield Hills, Ocean Bluff-Brant Rock, and Cedar Crest, and shares the Green Harbor CDP with the town of Duxbury.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Marshfield.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its A; Pembroke (A) is closest.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marshfield | #74 | A | D | A | B+ | A |
| Scituate | #21 | A+ | D | A+ | A | A+ |
| Norwell | #57 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Marshfield Hills | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ocean Bluff-Brant Rock | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Duxbury | #39 | A+ | D | A | A− | A+ |
| Pembroke | #70 | A | D | A | B+ | A |
| North Pembroke | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Norwell reports no FBI crime data of its own. Marshfield Hills, Ocean Bluff-Brant Rock and North Pembroke aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Marshfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Marshfield grades A overall, better than 87% of U.S. towns and #74 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A for health, A 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.
17 notable people were born here, including Mike Sullivan and David Warsofsky.
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