Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
New Bedford grades D− overall, 278th of 282 graded towns in Massachusetts, mostly because of schools and health. Its public schools trail 90% of Massachusetts towns on state tests and graduation. Residents are less healthy than 88% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. What it does well: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 93% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 100% of U.S. towns, with 41 places on the National Register. 31% of working residents work locally in New Bedford, above both Massachusetts’ towns (9.8%) and U.S. towns (8%). Only 10 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns score lower on incomes. Its National Register listings include New Bedford Historic District and U.S. Customhouse.
Where New Bedford beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
New Bedford Historic District| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Alma del Mar Charter School | K–8 | 1,042 |
| Hayden/McFadden | PK–5 | 748 |
| Abraham Lincoln | K–5 | 687 |
New Bedford Historic District is one of 6 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 3,313 in 1790, a low of 3,313 in 1790, 101,079 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1652 and 7 maps from 1888 on.
41 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far New Bedford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around New Bedford. Close and well known come first.
Big draw23 mi MuseumThe Breakers
Big draw34 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
12 mi MuseumUSS Massachusetts
22 mi Ancient siteHMS Endeavour
24 mi MuseumMarble House
12 mi MuseumBattleship CoveThe Breakers: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · USS Massachusetts: USN, Public domain · HMS Endeavour: Samuel Atkins (c.1760-1810), Public domain · Marble House: [email protected], Public domain · Battleship Cove: Electroengie at English Wikipedia, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in New Bedford, 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 New Bedford.
New Bedford costs less than Fairhaven or any other town next door and is safe by national standards but not by Massachusetts’s; it also has poverty well above the Massachusetts rate.
Each of its 3 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than that grade, Dartmouth highest at B.
Below: Two of its 32 schools, each with why it was picked. The public schools here belong to the New Bedford school district. The 6 public schools in New Bedford teach 4,269 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alma del Mar Charter SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 1,042 | C |
| New Bedford HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,878 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
All 3 graded neighbors score healthier than its D, from Fairhaven (B) to Dartmouth (B+).
Among adults in New Bedford, 22% report frequent mental distress. Only one of the 279 Massachusetts towns we compare has a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than New Bedford.
| New Bedford | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 15% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 11% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | New Bedford | MA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 26.7% | 12.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 11.1% | 5.2% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 14.2% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
For New Bedford, the FEMA hazard score is 12 of 100. Since 1979, 34 flood insurance claims have been paid out in the town. FEMA puts 66% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 14% to hurricanes. Federal aid has come to New Bedford households in 11 declared disasters; the latest was in 2023.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In New Bedford, the typical household income is $57,000. Among 283 Massachusetts towns, just 2 have a lower share of workers working from home than New Bedford. This Massachusetts town had 31,451 jobs in 2023, up 1,749 from 2013. The top destinations are Dartmouth (8%), Fall River (6%) and Boston (5%).
| New Bedford | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 5.4% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $57,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its typical home is the least expensive on its borders; Fairhaven is next at $506K.
Values rose 3.4% in the 12 months to September 2026. In New Bedford, two in five households live in a home they own. For New Bedford, the median rent is $1,137 a month.
| New Bedford | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 40% | 79% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,137 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 53% | 52% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 30.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 93% of Massachusetts’s graded towns. Each of the 3 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Dartmouth (C+) to Acushnet (B+).
New Bedford’s property offense rate comes in at 15.5 per 1,000 residents. The violent crime rate in the town is 3.4 per 1,000 residents.
| New Bedford | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.4 per 1,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.5 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Walkers can cover 10 miles of trail in 27 parks and preserves. New Bedford’s concentration of trails stands at 0.4 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Buttonwood Park, at 103 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fort Taber Park | 1 mi | 35 |
| 2. Riverside Park | 0.8 mi | 15 |
| 3. Buttonwood Park | 0.5 mi | 103 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
In July, afternoons reach 82°; in January, nights fall to 23°, and about 33 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
2 within 15 miles of the center of New Bedford
About 4 of every 100 New Bedford residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
41 places in New Bedford on the National Register of Historic Places.
37 notable people were born in New Bedford.
City in Massachusetts, United States
New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region, abutting Buzzards Bay. At the 2020 census, New Bedford had a population of 101,079, making it the state's ninth-largest city and the largest of the South Coast region. It is the second-largest city in the Providence metropolitan area and included in the greater Boston combined statistical area. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Indians. English colonists bought the land on which New Bedford would later be built from the Wampanoag in 1652, and the original colonial settlement that would later become the c…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with New Bedford.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D−; Dartmouth (B−) is closest.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Bedford | #278 | D− | C− | C | D | D |
| Fairhaven | #181 | B | C | B− | B− | B |
| Acushnet | #142 | B+ | C− | B+ | B | B |
| Dartmouth | #184 | B− | D | C+ | B | B+ |
| Acushnet Center | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bliss Corner | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Smith Mills | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Acushnet Center, Bliss Corner and Smith Mills aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare New Bedford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
New Bedford grades D− overall, better than 4% of U.S. towns and #278 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades D for health, C for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. That is 5 years of the area's median household income ($87,040 across the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
37 notable people were born here, including John Tukey and Hetty Green.
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