Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Stoneham grades A− overall, ranked 84th of 282 in Massachusetts. It has 39 miles of trail and 30% conserved land. The median household earns $114K and residents are healthier than 96% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $799K, 6.9 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 93% of U.S. towns, with 64 places on the National Register. Stoneham’s trail density is 5.9 miles per square mile, above both the Massachusetts town median (1.8) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Its National Register listings include Middlesex Fells Reservoirs Historic District and Almshouse. Stoneham is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 88% of U.S. towns.
Where Stoneham beats most towns.
Census counts: 381 in 1790, 23,244 in 2020. The archive holds 42 old photos and papers going back to 1700 and 6 maps from 1893 on.
64 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Stoneham is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for jobs and income (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 10%), so the A− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Stoneham. Close and well known come first.
Big draw9 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw9 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
8 mi AttractionFreedom Trail
13 mi LakeWalden Pond
8 mi Stadium & arenaHarvard StadiumFenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Harvard Stadium: Nick Allen, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Stoneham, 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 Stoneham.
Stoneham keeps more of its land conserved than most of Massachusetts, has less tooth loss than most of Massachusetts and is safe by national standards but not by Massachusetts’s.
Its 1,290 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 80% of Massachusetts towns.
39 miles of trail in 11 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Middlesex Fells Reservation, 1,384 acres with 31.4 miles of trail. More trails than any other town in Massachusetts.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Middlesex Fells Reservation | 31.4 mi | 1,384 |
| 2. Whip Hill Park | 1.7 mi | 26 |
| 3. Town Conservation Land | 0.3 mi | 14 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Stoneham school district. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stoneham Central Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 689 | B |
| Stoneham HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 599 | A− |
| SouthTop results in townGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 347 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Massachusetts is tooth loss: 7.2% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.9% statewide.
24% of Stoneham adults have obesity, against 28% in Massachusetts’ towns and 35% across U.S. towns. 10% of adults report frequent physical distress in Stoneham. Stoneham beats the Massachusetts average on 17 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Stoneham | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 28% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 33% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.3% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Stoneham | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.2% | 11.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.8% | 12.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.9% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 84% of U.S. communities. Since 2010, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Stoneham.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Stoneham for work: only 7% work in town. 25% of Stoneham workers work from home. The top destinations are Boston (24%), Cambridge (6%) and Woburn (5%).
| Stoneham | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 25% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $114,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.4% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The median rent in Stoneham is $2,035 a month. The typical Stoneham home is worth about $799,000, up 2.7% in a year, 22% above the Massachusetts typical home.
| Stoneham | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,035 a month | $1,682 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
At 12.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 53% of Massachusetts’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 26 reported in 2025, 1 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Stoneham has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 18° and about 64 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (24% statewide). Stoneham has grown 4.4% since 2020, to 24,253 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 56% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 47% across Massachusetts.
| Stoneham | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 56% | 47% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 19% | 18% |
| Median age | 42.2 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 21% | 20% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2 points). Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 42.0, men 42.3.
| Stoneham | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.4% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.4% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.5% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16.5% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.6% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.3% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.1% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.3% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.6% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.8% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 11.7% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 5.9% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 32.4% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 23.5% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
51 within 15 miles of the center of Stoneham
About 5 of every 100 Stoneham residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
30.5% of the town is conserved land, across 11 parks and preserves.
64 places in Stoneham on the National Register of Historic Places.
32 notable people were born in Stoneham.
Town in Massachusetts, U.S.
Stoneham ( STO-nəm) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, nine miles (14 km) north of downtown Boston. Its population was 23,244 at the 2020 census. Its proximity to major highways and public transportation offers convenient access to Boston and the North Shore coastal region and beaches of Massachusetts. The town is the birthplace of the Olympic figure-skating medalist Nancy Kerrigan and is the location of the Stone Zoo.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Stoneham.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Stoneham grades A− overall, better than 84% of U.S. towns and #84 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A+ for health, B+ for safety and B for schools, and has the most trail per square mile in the state. 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.
32 notable people were born here, including Buffy Sainte-Marie and Clarence Irving Lewis. Its 39 miles of trails, 5.9 per square mile, are the densest network of any Massachusetts town.
