Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
West Brookfield grades C+ overall, 215th of 282 graded towns in Massachusetts, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It reports less crime per resident than 84% of U.S. towns and it has 9 miles of trail. Its lowest everyday mark is in schools: its schools rank behind 65% of the state's. A typical home there costs about $413K, 4.3 years of the Worcester metro’s $96K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 99% of U.S. towns, with 7 places on the National Register. West Brookfield’s average trip to work is 42 minutes, above both the Massachusetts town median (30 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Only 15 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns score lower on walkability. Its National Register listings include Lucy Stone Home Site and White Homestead-Salem Cross Inn.
Where West Brookfield beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,344 in 1850, a low of 1,255 in 1930, 3,833 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and 8 maps from 1887 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far West Brookfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around West Brookfield. Close and well known come first.
Big draw22 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
10 mi LakeQuabbin Reservoir
23 mi National Historic SiteSpringfield Armory National Historic Site14K visitors a year
28 mi Theme parkSix Flags New England
10 mi MuseumOld Sturbridge Village
19 mi Stadium & arenaDCU CenterLake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Quabbin Reservoir: engineerchange, CC BY 2.0 · Springfield Armory National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain · Six Flags New England: Canadaolympic989, Public domain · Old Sturbridge Village: Wgmleslie at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5 · DCU Center: Terageorge, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in West Brookfield, 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 West Brookfield.
West Brookfield is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Massachusetts; it also carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Massachusetts (mostly inland flooding) and has commutes longer than most of Massachusetts.
Violent crime is rare: 3 reported in 2025, 0.8 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in West Brookfield is 2.8 per 1,000 residents.
| West Brookfield | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.8 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.8 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Quaboag Regional school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Brookfield ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 227 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
The typical West Brookfield home is worth about $413,000, up 2% in a year, 37% below the Massachusetts typical home. West Brookfield’s median rent is $1,236 a month.
| West Brookfield | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,236 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 81% | 79% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The average commute for its 1,773 working residents takes 41.8 minutes, against 29.1 across Massachusetts.
Most working residents leave West Brookfield for work: only 10% work in town. The top destinations are Worcester (10%), Boston (6%) and Spencer (4%). Half commute less than 20 miles.
| West Brookfield | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $96,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 8.5% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
9.1 miles of trail in 10 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Coy Hill Wildlife Management Area, at 548 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rock House Reservation | 2.8 mi | 133 |
| 2. Pynchon's Grist Mill | 1.4 mi | 77 |
| 3. Quaboag Wildlife Management Area | 0.6 mi | 400 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
West Brookfield has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 15° and about 43 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 93% of Massachusetts towns, with expected losses of about $322 per resident a year; that rating is what its C for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1987, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in West Brookfield.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Within Massachusetts it is less healthy than 90% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar. Against the 9,209 U.S. towns with household incomes like West Brookfield’s, it is less healthy than 66%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
West Brookfield beats the Massachusetts average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 14. 39% of adults have high blood pressure in West Brookfield.
| West Brookfield | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 32% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 24% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 82% | 79% |
| What stands out | West Brookfield | MA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults screened for colon cancer | 72.8% | 68.4% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 79.6% | 75.4% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.5% | 5.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of West Brookfield
About 1 of every 100 West Brookfield residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
Where West Brookfield’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
7 places in West Brookfield on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in West Brookfield.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
West Brookfield is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,833 at the 2020 census. It contains the census-designated place of the same name. Lucy Stone was born in West Brookfield, and George and Charles Merriam, the publishers of Webster's Dictionary, were raised there.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with West Brookfield.
It grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Brookfield (C+) comes closest.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Brookfield | #215 | C+ | C+ | A− | C+ | B− |
| Warren | #238 | C | B− | B | C+ | B |
| Brookfield | #216 | C+ | C+ | B+ | B | B− |
| Ware | #267 | D | C+ | C | D | C+ |
| New Braintree | — | — | C | A+ | C | B |
| North Brookfield | #253 | C− | B− | — | C− | B |
New Braintree has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. North Brookfield reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare West Brookfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
West Brookfield grades C+ overall, better than 44% of U.S. towns and #215 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades B− for health, A− for safety and C+ for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
4 notable people were born here, including Lucy Stone and Daniel Henry Chamberlain.
