Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Rochester grades B+ overall, 121st among Massachusetts's 282 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 84% of U.S. towns and the median household earns $120K. It also does better than most on health: it is healthier than 82% of U.S. towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: homes are expensive, about $687K for a typical one and 5.9 times the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. 24% of the land in Rochester is conserved, where Massachusetts’ towns sit at 19% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Only 18 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns score lower on walkability. The biggest park or preserve is Haskell Swamp Wildlife Management Area, at 1,222 acres.
Where Rochester beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,644 in 1790, a low of 986 in 1900, 5,717 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1841 and 7 maps from 1888 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Rochester takes its name from Rochester in Kent, England, 3,320 miles across the Atlantic.
UKUK editionRochester, settled in 1679, takes its name from Rochester, a large town in Kent, England.
1 more U.S. town is named after Rochester:Rochester Township, ND44
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Rochester is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Rochester. Close and well known come first.
Big draw32 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw31 mi MuseumThe Breakers
17 mi MuseumUSS Massachusetts
29 mi Ancient siteHMS Endeavour
32 mi MuseumMarble House
17 mi MuseumPlimoth PatuxetGillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Breakers: UpstateNYer, 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 · Plimoth Patuxet: Tr!sie, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Rochester, 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 Rochester.
Rochester reports less crime than Mattapoisett or any other graded neighbor and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Massachusetts; it also has commutes longer than most of Massachusetts.
Its A− tops all 5 graded towns on its borders; Mattapoisett (A−) comes closest.
Rochester’s property crime rate is 1.3 per 1,000 residents, against 4.9 in Massachusetts’ towns and 9.9 across U.S. towns.
| Rochester | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical, with 554 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rochester MemorialLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 473 | B |
| Old Colony Regional Vocational TechnicalLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 554 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Within Massachusetts it is less healthy than 62% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar. Against the 5,719 U.S. towns with household incomes like Rochester’s, it is healthier than 60%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
18% of adults binge drink in Rochester. Rochester beats the Massachusetts average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 29% of adults have obesity in Rochester.
| Rochester | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 33% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 28% | 35% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 3.8% | 3.7% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Rochester | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.8% | 5.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.4% | 12.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.1% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The average commute for its 2,540 working residents takes 36.5 minutes, against 29.1 across Massachusetts. Jobs based here grew from 877 in 2013 to 1,169.
Most working residents leave Rochester for work: only 9% work in town. Rochester’s average trip to work is 37 minutes. Jobs based in Rochester grew to 1,169 in 2023, 292 more than in 2013.
| Rochester | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 37 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 8.3% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $120,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.4% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
26 miles of trail in 19 parks and preserves. The trail density in Rochester is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. East Over Reservation | 1.8 mi | 73 |
| 2. Stephen C.L. Delano Memorial Forest | 1.2 mi | 109 |
| 3. Leonards Pond Recreation Area | 0.8 mi | 80 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Rochester has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 21° and about 31 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 61% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Rochester since 1978.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Massachusetts average. 43% of Rochester adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. Rochester has grown 4.1% since 2020, to 5,956 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Rochester | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 46.5 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 43% | 47% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 20% | 22% |
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.1 points). Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Rochester | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.9% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.1% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.8% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.8% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.6% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.5% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.8% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.4% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.5% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.2% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 15% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.9% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.8% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.6% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The typical Rochester home is worth about $687,000, up 4.1% in a year, close to the Massachusetts typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3 within 15 miles of the center of Rochester
About 4 of every 100 Rochester residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
Where Rochester’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Rochester on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Rochester.
Town in Massachusetts
Rochester is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,717 at the 2020 census. Rochester is a part of the South Coast region of Massachusetts which encompasses the cities and towns that surround Buzzards Bay (excluding the Elizabeth Islands, Bourne and Falmouth), Mount Hope Bay and the Sakonnet River.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Rochester.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rochester | #121 | B+ | C | A− | B | A− |
| Wareham | #247 | C− | C+ | C+ | D | B |
| Mattapoisett | #65 | A | C | A− | B+ | A |
| Marion | #80 | A | C+ | B+ | B+ | A− |
| West Wareham | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Middleborough | #218 | C+ | C− | C+ | C+ | B+ |
| Acushnet | #142 | B+ | C− | B+ | B | B |
West Wareham isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Rochester with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Rochester grades B+ overall, better than 72% of U.S. towns and #121 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A− for health, A− for safety and B for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
5 notable people were born here, including Joseph Bates and Peleg Sprague.
_underway_c1944.jpg){kind=link}
