Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Few places in the country grade higher. Sharon earns an A+, ranked 8th of 282 in Massachusetts. On CDC health estimates it is near the top nationally, the median household earns $192K, and it reports less crime per resident than 95% of U.S. towns. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $873K for a typical one and 7.5 times the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. 77% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Sharon, above both the Massachusetts town median (47%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). On hazard risk, just 8 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns do better. Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary, at 1,827 acres with 19.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Sharon beats most towns.
Sharon Historic District| Widest gap | Sharon | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4.7% | 11.9% |
Census counts: 1,034 in 1790, 18,575 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1740 and 7 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 Sharon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sharon. Close and well known come first.
Big draw4 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw17 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Big draw34 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
28 mi MuseumUSS Massachusetts
19 mi AttractionFreedom TrailGillette 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 · Lake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · USS Massachusetts: USN, Public domain · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sharon, 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 Sharon.
Sharon reports less crime than Norwood or any other graded neighbor, keeps more of its land conserved than most of Massachusetts and has less tooth loss than most of Massachusetts.
Its 6,540 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 97% of Massachusetts towns.
86 miles of trail in 55 parks and preserves. Sharon’s trail density is 3.6 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary | 19.6 mi | 1,827 |
| 2. Borderland State Park | 15.1 mi | 1,135 |
| 3. Moose Hill Farm | 4.8 mi | 381 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A is the best School Grade on its borders; Foxborough (A−) is next. Its A for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $873K.
Its public schools are run by the Sharon school district. Three of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sharon MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 815 | A− |
| Sharon HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,161 | A+ |
| Heights ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 545 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Massachusetts is tooth loss: 4.7% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.9% statewide.
21% of adults have obesity in Sharon. Among 279 Massachusetts towns, just 2 have a lower share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Sharon. 8.5% of adults have diabetes in Sharon.
| Sharon | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 28% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.4% | 12% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Sharon | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4.7% | 11.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 2.5% | 5.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.5% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A+ tops all 5 graded towns on its borders; Norwood (B+) comes closest. Violent crime is rare: 4 reported in 2025, 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
The violent crime rate in Sharon is 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Sharon | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.3 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 92% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 26 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sharon.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The average commute for its 8,521 working residents takes 38.6 minutes, against 29.1 across Massachusetts. Jobs based here grew from 2,930 in 2013 to 5,376.
Most working residents leave Sharon for work: only 6% work in town. 32% of Sharon workers work from home. Since 2013, Sharon has added 2,446 jobs, to 5,376 in 2023.
| Sharon | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 32% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $192,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 39 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3.8% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Sharon home is worth about $873,000, up 2.3% in a year, 33% above the Massachusetts typical home.
| Sharon | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,310 a month | $1,682 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 88% | 79% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Sharon has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 19° and about 56 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
16 within 15 miles of the center of Sharon
About 5 of every 100 Sharon residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
42.1% of the town is conserved land, across 55 parks and preserves.
3 places in Sharon on the National Register of Historic Places.
13 notable people were born in Sharon.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Sharon is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,575 at the 2020 census. It contains the census-designated place of the same name. Sharon is part of Greater Boston, about 17 miles (27 km) southwest of downtown Boston, and is connected to both Boston and Providence by the Providence/Stoughton Line.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Sharon.
At #8 in MA, it grades higher overall than all 5 graded towns on its borders; Walpole (A) comes closest.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Sharon grades A+ overall, among the top 2% of U.S. towns and #8 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 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−.
13 notable people were born here, including Sarah Palfrey Cooke and Alan Metter.
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