Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Rowley grades B+ overall, 140th among Massachusetts's 282 graded towns. It has 30 miles of trail and 32% conserved land. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 95% of the country and the median household earns $133K. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $796K, 6.9 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. 33% of the land in Rowley is conserved, where Massachusetts’ towns sit at 19% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Its National Register listings include Thomas Lambert House and Agawan Diner.
Where Rowley beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,772 in 1790, a low of 1,075 in 1850, 6,161 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1936 and 8 maps from 1888 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Rowley is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Rowley. Close and well known come first.
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw29 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
30 mi LakeWalden Pond
26 mi AttractionFreedom Trail
28 mi MuseumMuseum of Fine Arts Boston477K visitors a year
25 mi MuseumBunker Hill MonumentFenway 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 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Museum of Fine Arts Boston: Martin~jawiki at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bunker Hill Monument: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Rowley, 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 Rowley.
Rowley keeps more of its land conserved than most of Massachusetts, trades workers with Boston and other neighbors and has less tooth loss than most of Massachusetts.
Its widest gap with Massachusetts is tooth loss: 5.9% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.9% statewide.
29% of Rowley adults feel lonely, below both Massachusetts’ towns (33%) and U.S. towns (33%). 14% of Rowley adults report frequent mental distress. Rowley beats the Massachusetts average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Rowley | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 33% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.2% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Rowley | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.9% | 11.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 2.6% | 5.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.5% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Triton school district. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine GroveLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 429 | B− |
| Clark School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 189 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Its 4,205 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 84% of Massachusetts towns.
30 miles of trail in 46 parks and preserves. Rowley’s trail density is 1.5 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, 1,024 acres with 2.9 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Georgetown-Rowley State Forest | 8.5 mi | 411 |
| 2. Parker River National Wildlife Refuge | 2.9 mi | 1,024 |
| 3. Dodge Reservation | 2.5 mi | 169 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The typical Rowley home is worth about $796,000, up 2% in a year, 22% above the Massachusetts typical home. The median rent in Rowley is $1,603 a month.
| Rowley | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 82% | 79% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,603 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Rowley has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 18° and about 62 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 18 to 34 are 16% of residents (24% statewide). 57% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Rowley. Rowley has grown 3.1% since 2020, to 6,356 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Rowley | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 50 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 57% | 47% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 19% | 18% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.7 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Rowley | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.1% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.1% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.9% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.3% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.5% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.8% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 23.5% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.3% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.4% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 0.4% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 15.1% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.5% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.1% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 31.8% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 25% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Rowley has about as many jobs (2,693) as working residents, but only 289 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Rowley for work: only 10% work in town. Since 2013, Rowley has added 204 jobs, to 2,693 in 2023. The top destinations are Boston (10%), Newburyport (5%) and Beverly (5%).
| Rowley | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $133,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3.1% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 11% | 18% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Rowley's reported crime rate is well below Massachusetts's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 4 violent crimes were reported in 2023.
| Rowley | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 2.2 per 1,000 residents | 6.1 | 13.1 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.8 |
FBI crime data, 2023 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 2017, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Rowley.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
8 within 15 miles of the center of Rowley
About 5 of every 100 Rowley residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
Coastal flooding makes up 22% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
4 places in Rowley on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Rowley is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,161 at the 2020 census. Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Rowley.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Rowley.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its B+; Newbury (B+) is closest.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rowley | #140 | B+ | C− | — | B− | A+ |
| Newbury | #126 | B+ | C− | B+ | B− | A |
| Ipswich | #59 | A | C− | A | B+ | A |
| Georgetown | #76 | A | D | A | B | A+ |
| Boxford | #3 | A+ | B− | A+ | A | A+ |
Rowley reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Rowley with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Rowley grades B+ overall, better than 67% of U.S. towns and #140 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A+ for health and B− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
