Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Webster earns a D, 268th among Massachusetts's 282 graded towns, mostly because of schools and safety. Its public schools trail 95% of Massachusetts towns on state tests and graduation. Its crime rate is higher than 75% of U.S. towns, with 91 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. In its favor, it has 22 miles of trail. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 92% of U.S. towns, with 9 places on the National Register. Only 19 of Massachusetts’ 321 towns score lower on health. 20% of the land in Webster is conserved, near the Massachusetts town median (19%) and above the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). Only 27 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns score lower on incomes.
Where Webster beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 2,371 in 1850, 17,776 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1882 and 8 maps from 1889 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Webster is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Webster. Close and well known come first.
Big drawin town LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
Big draw30 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
38 mi National Historic SiteSpringfield Armory National Historic Site14K visitors a year
37 mi LakeWalden Pond
32 mi LakeQuabbin Reservoir
40 mi Theme parkSix Flags New EnglandLake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Gillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Springfield Armory National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Quabbin Reservoir: engineerchange, CC BY 2.0 · Six Flags New England: Canadaolympic989, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Webster, 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 Webster.
Its public schools are run by the Webster school district. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Bartlett High School, with 408 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Park Avenue ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 738 | C |
| Bartlett High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 408 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Webster’s trail density is 1.5 miles per square mile, below Massachusetts’ towns (1.8) but above U.S. towns (0.4). Mine Brook Wildlife Management Area, at 873 acres with 11.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mine Brook Wildlife Management Area | 11.8 mi | 873 |
| 2. Douglas State Forest | 3.2 mi | 202 |
| 3. Memorial Athletic Field | 0.2 mi | 12 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 31.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 93% of Massachusetts’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 276 to 206 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Webster is 5.1 per 1,000 residents. Webster reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 75% report less.
| Webster | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.1 per 1,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.5 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave Webster for work: only 12% work in town. Webster’s median household income is $73,000. The top destinations are Worcester (18%), Boston (5%) and Oxford (4%).
| Webster | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 8% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $73,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Webster home is worth about $443,000, up 2% in a year, 32% below the Massachusetts typical home. 60% of households own their home in Webster.
| Webster | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 60% | 79% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,228 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Webster has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 17° and about 48 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Webster beats the Massachusetts average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 19. 16% of Webster adults report frequent physical distress. Among 279 Massachusetts towns, just 10 have a higher share of adults who have obesity than Webster.
| Webster | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 24% | 23% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 19% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Webster | MA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.2% | 5.9% |
| More smokers | 15.2% | 11.3% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 9.2% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 54% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Webster.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
3 within 15 miles of the center of Webster
About 6 of every 100 Webster residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
Where Webster’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
8 places in Webster on the National Register of Historic Places.
11 notable people were born in Webster.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Webster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,776 at the 2020 census. It contains the census-designated place of the same name. Named after statesman Daniel Webster, the town was founded by industrialist Samuel Slater, and was home to several early American textile mills. It was home to the Chaubunagungamaug Reservation of the Nipmuc; many still live near there. It is the location as well as Lake Chaubunagungamaug, the third largest body of freshwater, and largest natural lake, in Massachusetts.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Webster.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Webster grades D overall, better than 8% of U.S. towns and #268 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades C+ for health, C for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 4.6 years of the area's median household income ($95,939 across the Worcester, MA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
11 notable people were born here, including Richard Lindzen and William Slater Brown.
