Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Southborough is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, ranked 9th of 282 in Massachusetts. Its public schools are among the best in Massachusetts, it is healthier than 98% of U.S. towns, and it reports less crime per resident than 93% of U.S. towns. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $942K, 9.8 years of the Worcester metro’s $96K median household income. 76% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Southborough, against 47% in Massachusetts’ towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Southborough is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 87% of U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Sudbury Reservoir Watershed, 2,116 acres with 13.4 miles of trail.
Where Southborough beats most towns.
Sudbury Dam Historic District| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Mary E Finn School | PK–1 | 345 |
| Albert S. Woodward Memorial School | 2–3 | 286 |
| Margaret A Neary | 4–5 | 275 |
Census counts: 837 in 1790, 10,450 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1895 and 7 maps from 1887 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 Southborough is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Southborough. Close and well known come first.
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw24 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
Big draw22 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
14 mi LakeWalden Pond
25 mi AttractionFreedom TrailFenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in Southborough, 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 Southborough.
Southborough has schools in the top 5% of Massachusetts, reports less crime than Hopkinton or any other graded neighbor and draws workers from Worcester and beyond.
Its A+ ranks #1 of the 283 Massachusetts towns we grade for schools. Its A+ for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $942K.
Its public schools are run by the Southborough school district. Three of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| P Brent TrottierLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 404 | A |
| Fay School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades K–9 | Grades K–9 | 486 | – |
| Albert S. Woodward Memorial SchoolTop results in townGrades 2–3 | Grades 2–3 | 286 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Massachusetts is tooth loss: 5.2% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.9% statewide. Against the 1,004 U.S. towns with household incomes like Southborough’s, it is healthier than 76%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
7.1% of adults smoke cigarettes in Southborough. Southborough beats the Massachusetts average on 20 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 9.8% of adults report frequent physical distress in Southborough.
| Southborough | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.1% | 11% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 12% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 19% |
| What stands out | Southborough | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.2% | 11.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 2.3% | 5.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
7,970 jobs are based in Southborough, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 31% of workers work from home, against 18.6% across Massachusetts.
Most working residents leave Southborough for work: only 9% work in town. The median household income in Southborough is $197,000. The top destinations are Boston (15%), Framingham (7%) and Marlborough (6%).
| Southborough | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $197,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 31% | 18% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3.7% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its A tops all 5 graded towns on its borders; Hopkinton (A) comes closest. Violent crime is rare: 10 reported in 2025, 0.9 per 1,000 residents.
Southborough’s property crime rate is 0.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Southborough | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 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
Its 3,105 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 82% of Massachusetts towns.
32 miles of trail in 33 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sudbury Reservoir Watershed | 13.4 mi | 2,116 |
| 2. Breakneck Hill Conservation Area | 3.3 mi | 88 |
| 3. Chestnut Hill Farm | 3 mi | 172 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 9.8 years of the Worcester metro’s $96K median household income, the typical home (about $942K) costs more against local pay than in 91% of Massachusetts towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
88% of Southborough households own their home. The typical Southborough home is worth about $942,000, up 1.6% in a year, 44% above the Massachusetts typical home.
| Southborough | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,496 a month | $1,682 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 88% | 79% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 84% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Southborough since 2023.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Southborough has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 17° and about 48 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
14 within 15 miles of the center of Southborough
About 4 of every 100 Southborough residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
Where Southborough’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 places in Southborough on the National Register of Historic Places.
15 notable people were born in Southborough.
City in Massachusetts, United States
Southborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It incorporates the villages of Cordaville, Fayville, and Southville. Its name is often informally shortened to Southboro, a usage seen on many area signs and maps. At the 2020 census, its population was 10,450 in 3,542 households. As of 2021, 43% of land use was residential, with 35% open space, including one-tenth of the town's area that is flooded by the Sudbury Reservoir. Light industrial land use is concentrated along main roads, primarily Massachusetts Route 9, and there are several small business districts in the villages and along Route 9.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Southborough.
At #9 in MA, it grades higher overall than all 5 graded towns on its borders; Hopkinton (A+) comes closest.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southborough | #9 | A+ | D | A | A+ | A+ |
| Cordaville | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hopkinton | #12 | A+ | D | A | A+ | A+ |
| Ashland | #55 | A | D | A− | A− | A+ |
| Marlborough | #242 | C | D | C | C− | A− |
| Westborough | #83 | A− | D− | B | A | A+ |
| Framingham | #235 | C | D | C+ | D | A− |
Cordaville isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Southborough with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Southborough grades A+ overall, among the top 2% of U.S. towns and #9 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.
15 notable people were born here, including Storm Large and Doug Brown.
