Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Northbridge's standout: it has 46 miles of trail. Overall it grades B−, 188th of 282 graded towns in Massachusetts. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 79% of U.S. towns and natural-hazard risk is low. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 97% of U.S. towns, with 5 places on the National Register. Northbridge’s trail density is 2.6 miles per square mile, above both the Massachusetts town median (1.8) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). On civic life, just 28 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns do worse. Its National Register listings include Whitinsville Historic District and Rockdale Common Housing District.
Where Northbridge beats most towns.
Census counts: 569 in 1790, 16,335 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1897 and 8 maps from 1886 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Northbridge is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Northbridge. Close and well known come first.
Big draw11 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw32 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw32 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
27 mi LakeWalden Pond
39 mi MuseumUSS MassachusettsLake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Gillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · USS Massachusetts: USN, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Northbridge, 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 Northbridge.
Northbridge is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Massachusetts; it also reports more crime than Sutton and its other graded neighbors.
The biggest place to walk is West Hill Wildlife Management Area, 203 acres with 6.3 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park | 9.7 mi | 599 |
| 2. West Hill Wildlife Management Area | 6.3 mi | 203 |
| 3. West Hill Park | 2.6 mi | 67 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Northbridge school district. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Northbridge High, with 471 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northbridge Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 973 | C |
| Northbridge HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 471 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Northbridge is safe by national standards, yet each of the 4 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Sutton (A−) to Upton (A). At 8.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 65% of Massachusetts’s graded towns.
Northbridge’s property crime rate is 4.2 per 1,000 residents, against 4.9 in Massachusetts’ towns and 9.9 across U.S. towns.
| Northbridge | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.2 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.1 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave Northbridge for work: only 11% work in town. The average trip to work in Northbridge is 31 minutes. Since 2013, Northbridge has added 599 jobs, to 5,259 in 2023.
| Northbridge | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $111,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 16% | 18% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 9.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 78% of U.S. communities. Since 1987, 26 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Northbridge.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Within Massachusetts it is less healthy than 81% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar. All 4 graded neighbors score healthier than its B+, from Uxbridge (A−) to Upton (A).
Northbridge beats the Massachusetts average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 27% of Northbridge adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Northbridge | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 24% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 28% | 35% |
| What stands out | Northbridge | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.6% | 11.9% |
| More adults with obesity | 32.7% | 27.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Northbridge home is worth about $512,000, up 2.3% in a year, 22% below the Massachusetts typical home. Northbridge’s median rent is $1,207 a month.
| Northbridge | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,207 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 79% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Northbridge has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 17° and about 48 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
8 within 15 miles of the center of Northbridge
About 4 of every 100 Northbridge residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
Where Northbridge’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 places in Northbridge on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Northbridge.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Northbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,335 at the 2020 census. The Northbridge Town Hall is located at 7 Main Street in Whitinsville. The town is now a part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, of the National Park Service. Northbridge claims to history include: Native American Nipmuc lands, Colonel John Spring, who led the Uxbridge militia training company in the American Revolution, Samuel Spring, Revolutionary War Chaplain, the Residence of Ezra T. Benson 1830–1832, the birthplace of President Millard Fillmore's mother, Phoebe, and home to the Whitin Machine Works from 1831 to 1964. For geographic and demograph…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Northbridge.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its B−; Uxbridge (B) is closest.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northbridge | #188 | B− | C | A− | C | B+ |
| Upton | #82 | A | C | A | B | A |
| Sutton | #73 | A | C+ | A− | B | A |
| Uxbridge | #148 | B | C− | A− | C | A− |
| Whitinsville | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grafton | #62 | A | C− | A | B+ | A |
Whitinsville isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Northbridge with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Northbridge grades B− overall, better than 53% of U.S. towns and #188 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades B+ for health, A− for safety and C for schools.
That is 5.3 years of the area's median household income ($95,939 across the Worcester, 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.
6 notable people were born here, including Henry Prentiss Armsby and Royal C. Taft.
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