Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Wakefield grades A overall, 66th of 282 graded towns in Massachusetts. It is healthier than 96% of U.S. towns. The median household earns $134K and crime is low: it reports less per resident than 75% of U.S. towns. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $812K for a typical one and 7 times the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 97% of U.S. towns, with 96 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include Wakefield Rattan Co. and Elisha Knight Homestead. 60% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Wakefield, where Massachusetts’ towns sit at 47% and U.S. towns at 29%. The biggest park or preserve is Reedy Meadow, at 135 acres.
Where Wakefield beats most towns.
Its 96 National Register listings are more than in 97% of Massachusetts towns with a listing.
Census counts: 2,407 in 1850, 27,090 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1735 and 7 maps from 1888 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Wakefield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wakefield. Close and well known come first.
Big draw11 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw30 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw12 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
10 mi AttractionFreedom Trail
15 mi LakeWalden Pond
9 mi MuseumBunker Hill MonumentFenway 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 · Bunker Hill Monument: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wakefield, 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 Wakefield.
Wakefield trades workers with Boston and other neighbors, has less tooth loss than most of Massachusetts and is safe by national standards but not by Massachusetts’s.
Its widest gap with Massachusetts is tooth loss: 6.2% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.9% statewide.
The share of adults 18 to 64 in Wakefield who have no health insurance: 3.2%. Of 32 CDC measures, Wakefield beats the Massachusetts average on 19 and trails it on 1. Among adults in the town, 10% report frequent physical distress and 30% sleep under 7 hours.
| Wakefield | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 28% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 36% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.2% | 9.3% | 12% |
| What stands out | Wakefield | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.2% | 11.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.6% | 12.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.6% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Wakefield school district runs its public schools. Below: Three of its 10 schools, each with why it was picked. 4 public schools serve Wakefield, with 1,344 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galvin Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 1,056 | B− |
| Northeast Metro Regional VocationalLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,381 | C− |
| Wakefield Memorial HighTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 854 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
67 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 13 properties have flooded more than once.
Wakefield’s natural-hazard score from FEMA stands at 19 of 100. Flood insurance has paid out on 67 claims here since 1978. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 68% come from inland flooding and 11% from hurricanes. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Wakefield after 13 declared disasters, most recently in 2018.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 9.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 57% of Massachusetts’s graded towns.
The property offense rate in Wakefield is 3.3 per 1,000 residents. The rate of reported violence here is 1.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Wakefield | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.3 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.4 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Trails total 11 miles in 20 parks and preserves. For Wakefield, the concentration of trails is 1.4 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. J.J. Round Park | 1.6 mi | 55 |
| 2. Wakefield Town Forest | 1.2 mi | 44 |
| 3. Breakheart Reservation | 0.9 mi | 32 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Homes in Wakefield are typically worth about $812,000, up 2.2% in a year, 24% above the Massachusetts typical home. For Wakefield, the median rent is $1,958 a month. Among households in the town, 71% own their home.
| Wakefield | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,958 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
Expect July afternoons of 83° and January nights of 18°, with about 64 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Wakefield has about as many jobs (13,334) as working residents, but only 1,299 people both live and work here.
In Wakefield, 25% of workers do their job from home. The median commute is under 10 miles. The average commute for Wakefield comes to 33 minutes. The top destinations are Boston (24%), Cambridge (6%) and Woburn (4%).
| Wakefield | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 25% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $134,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4.9% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
47 within 15 miles of the center of Wakefield
About 4 of every 100 Wakefield residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
96 places in Wakefield on the National Register of Historic Places.
37 notable people were born in Wakefield.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Wakefield is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the greater Boston metropolitan area, incorporated in 1812 and located about 12.5 mi (20.1 km) north-northwest of Downtown Boston. Wakefield's population was 27,090 at the 2020 census. Wakefield offers an assortment of activities around the local lake, Lake Quannapowitt.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Wakefield.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Wakefield grades A overall, better than 91% of U.S. towns and #66 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A+ for health, A− for safety and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes, by national standards. Wakefield reports less crime per resident than 75% of U.S. towns, an A− Safety Grade: 41 violent and 99 property crimes in 2025.
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.
37 notable people were born here, including Rachel Levine and Carleton S. Coon.
