Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Trash day: look up yoursFew places in the country grade higher. North Reading earns an A, ranked 51st of 282 in Massachusetts. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 97% of the country, the median household earns $148K, and its schools rank ahead of 90% of Massachusetts towns. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $815K, 7 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. North Reading’s trail density is 1.9 miles per square mile, close to Massachusetts’ towns (1.8) and above U.S. towns (0.4). Only 30 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns score lower on history. Swan Pond, at 281 acres with 6.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where North Reading beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,203 in 1860, 15,554 in 2020. The archive holds 53 old photos and papers going back to 1720 and 8 maps from 1886 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far North Reading is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for health (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 4%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around North Reading. Close and well known come first.
Big draw16 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw35 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw17 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
16 mi LakeWalden Pond
15 mi AttractionFreedom Trail
15 mi Stadium & arenaHarvard StadiumFenway 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 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Harvard Stadium: Nick Allen, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in North Reading, 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 North Reading.
North Reading trades workers with Boston and other neighbors 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: 2.8% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 5.2% statewide.
24% of adults have obesity in North Reading, against 28% in Massachusetts’ towns and 35% across U.S. towns. 10% of adults report frequent physical distress in North Reading. North Reading beats the Massachusetts average on 21 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| North Reading | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 28% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 33% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 19% | 25% |
| What stands out | North Reading | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 2.8% | 5.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.7% | 12.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.6% | 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 $815K.
Its public schools are run by the North Reading school district. Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is North Reading High, with 652 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Reading MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 494 | A− |
| North Reading HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 652 | A |
| L D BatchelderTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 462 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
26 miles of trail in 31 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Swan Pond | 6.3 mi | 281 |
| 2. Harold Parker State Forest | 5 mi | 248 |
| 3. Ives Memorial Forest | 0.8 mi | 18 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Violent crime is rare: 15 reported in 2025, 0.9 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in North Reading is 3 per 1,000 residents.
| North Reading | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3 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
75.5% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 51.8% across Massachusetts. The median property tax bill is $9,693, against $5,992 across Massachusetts, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
North Reading’s median rent is $2,259 a month. The typical North Reading home is worth about $815,000, up 2.6% in a year, 24% above the Massachusetts typical home. 84% of North Reading households own their home.
| North Reading | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,259 a month | $1,682 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 84% | 79% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
North Reading has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 18° and about 64 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
92 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 24 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 67% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 92 flood insurance claims have been paid out in North Reading.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (24% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 44% of residents (39% statewide). North Reading has grown 6.5% since 2020, to 16,553 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 56% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 47% across Massachusetts.
| North Reading | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 56% | 47% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 22% | 20% | 22% |
| Median age | 43 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.1 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 44.8, men 41.1.
| North Reading | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.2% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.1% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.5% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.6% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.4% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.1% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.4% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.6% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.1% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.5% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20.6% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 13.1% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.3% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 34.1% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 22.3% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
North Reading has about as many jobs (8,764) as working residents, but only 634 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave North Reading for work: only 8% work in town. Since 2013, North Reading has added 1,993 jobs, to 8,764 in 2023. The top destinations are Boston (19%), Cambridge (5%) and Woburn (4%).
| North Reading | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 26% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $148,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 2.7% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
21 within 15 miles of the center of North Reading
About 4 of every 100 North Reading residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
3 places in North Reading on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
North Reading (pronounced, as is with Reading as ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,554 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with North Reading.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Reading | #51 | A | D− | A− | A | A+ |
| Reading | #19 | A+ | D | A | A− | A+ |
| Lynnfield | #64 | A | D | B+ | A | A+ |
| Middleton | #49 | A | C | A | A− | A |
| Wilmington | #108 | A− | D | B | B | A |
| Andover | #45 | A+ | D | A− | A | A+ |
| North Andover | #79 | A | D− | A− | A− | A |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. North Reading grades A overall, better than 94% of U.S. towns and #51 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 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−.
