Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Natick grades A overall, 72nd among Massachusetts's 282 graded towns. On CDC health estimates it is near the top nationally. The median household earns $139K and its public schools beat 88% of Massachusetts towns on state tests and graduation. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $878K for a typical one and 7.6 times the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 91% of U.S. towns, with 10 places on the National Register. 71% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Natick, where Massachusetts’ towns sit at 47% and U.S. towns at 29%. Natick is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 94% of U.S. towns. Only 32 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns score higher on hazard risk.
Where Natick beats most towns.
Parsonage, The is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 615 in 1790, 37,006 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 1715 and 7 maps from 1886 on.
10 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Natick is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Natick. Close and well known come first.
Big draw14 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw14 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw13 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Big draw30 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
11 mi LakeWalden Pond
14 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 · Lake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, 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 Natick, 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 Natick.
Natick has less tooth loss than most of Massachusetts and is safe by national standards but not by Massachusetts’s; it also has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Massachusetts.
Its widest gap with Massachusetts is tooth loss: 5.3% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.9% statewide.
Natick beats the Massachusetts average on 22 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 23% of Natick adults have obesity.
| Natick | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 28% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.5% | 12% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.9% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Natick | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.3% | 11.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.9% | 12.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.4% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $878K.
Its public schools are run by the Natick school district. Three of its 11 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| J F Kennedy Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 911 | A− |
| Natick HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,761 | A |
| MemorialTop results in townGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 455 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 89% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 36 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Natick.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
30 miles of trail in 30 parks and preserves. The trail density in Natick is 1.9 miles per square mile. Cochituate State Park, at 442 acres with 1.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary | 4.2 mi | 324 |
| 2. Hunnewell Town Forest | 4 mi | 104 |
| 3. Cochituate State Park | 1.3 mi | 442 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 7.6 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income, the typical home (about $878K) costs more against local pay than in 76% of Massachusetts towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
Natick’s median rent is $2,134 a month. The typical Natick home is worth about $878,000, up 1.4% in a year, 34% above the Massachusetts typical home. 68% of households own their home in Natick.
| Natick | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,134 a month | $1,682 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 68% | 79% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Natick has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 18° and about 46 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Natick for work: only 14% work in town. The top destinations are Boston (17%), Framingham (6%) and Newton (5%). Half commute less than 12 miles.
| Natick | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 25% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $139,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 9.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 19.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 72% of Massachusetts’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
40 within 15 miles of the center of Natick
About 5 of every 100 Natick residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
33,006 counted in 2010 and 37,006 in 2020; an estimated 36,969 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 12.1% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
10 places in Natick on the National Register of Historic Places.
23 notable people were born in Natick.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Natick ( NAY-tik) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. Ten miles (16 km) west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. Massachusetts's center of population was in Natick at the censuses of 2000–2020, most recently in the vicinity of Hunters Lane.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Natick.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natick | #72 | A | D | B− | A | A+ |
| Sherborn | #17 | A+ | D | A | A+ | A+ |
| Wayland | #6 | A+ | C | A | A+ | A+ |
| Cochituate | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Framingham | #235 | C | D | C+ | D | A− |
| Dover | #41 | A+ | D | A− | A+ | A+ |
| Wellesley | #14 | A+ | D | A | A+ | A+ |
| Weston | #22 | A+ | D− | A | A+ | A+ |
Cochituate isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Natick with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Natick grades A overall, better than 88% of U.S. towns and #72 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A+ for health, B− for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Massachusetts has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Natick 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.
23 notable people were born here, including John Carlson and Kara Wolters.
