Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Whitman grades B overall, 176th among Massachusetts's 282 graded towns. 11% of its land is conserved. The median household earns $109K. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $551K, 4.8 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. Whitman’s trail density is 0.3 miles per square mile, against 1.8 in Massachusetts’ towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. On history, just 14 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns do worse. Whitman is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns.
Where Whitman beats most towns.
Where Whitman’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Whitman is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,024 in 1880, 15,121 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1889 and 7 maps from 1885 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Whitman. Close and well known come first.
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw20 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
28 mi MuseumUSS Massachusetts
20 mi AttractionFreedom Trail
20 mi MuseumMuseum of Fine Arts Boston477K visitors a yearGillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · USS Massachusetts: USN, Public domain · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Museum of Fine Arts Boston: Martin~jawiki at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Whitman, 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 Whitman.
Whitman is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Massachusetts; it also has commutes longer than most of Massachusetts.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 80% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 14 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Whitman.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Whitman-Hanson school district. One of its 3 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whitman MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 496 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
The average commute for its 7,699 working residents takes 36.1 minutes, against 29.1 across Massachusetts.
Most working residents leave Whitman for work: only 6% work in town. At 36 minutes, Whitman’s average trip to work is where Massachusetts’ towns sit at 30 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. The top destinations are Boston (12%), Brockton (6%) and Weymouth Town (5%).
| Whitman | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 36 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $109,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.5% | 9.9% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.9% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within Massachusetts it is less healthy than 74% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar. Against the 7,301 U.S. towns with household incomes like Whitman’s, it is healthier than 55%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
Whitman beats the Massachusetts average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 19% of Whitman adults binge drink.
| Whitman | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 24% | 23% |
| What stands out | Whitman | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.5% | 11.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| More adults in frequent mental distress | 18.5% | 16.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Whitman has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 20° and about 34 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median rent in Whitman is $1,771 a month. The typical Whitman home is worth about $551,000, up 3.5% in a year, 16% below the Massachusetts typical home.
| Whitman | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,771 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
2.1 miles of trail in 15 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Bear Meadow, at 238 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Town Park | 0.9 mi | 14 |
| 2. Bear Meadow | 0.2 mi | 238 |
| 3. Hobart Meadow Conservation Area | — | 121 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Massachusetts has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Whitman sits closer to the middle.
| Whitman | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.1 per 1,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.8 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
9 within 15 miles of the center of Whitman
About 5 of every 100 Whitman residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
2 places in Whitman on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Whitman.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Whitman is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,121 at the 2020 census. It is located approximately 20 miles (32 km) south of Boston on the western edge of the South Shore. The chocolate chip cookie was invented in Whitman by Ruth Graves Wakefield at the Toll House Inn.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Whitman.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitman | #176 | B | C− | B | C+ | B+ |
| East Bridgewater | #122 | B+ | C− | A− | B− | A− |
| Brockton | #272 | D | C− | C− | D | C− |
| Abington | #189 | B− | D | C+ | C+ | A− |
| Hanson | #133 | B+ | C− | A− | C+ | A− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Whitman grades B overall, better than 58% of U.S. towns and #176 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades B+ for health, B for safety and C+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes, by national standards. Massachusetts has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Whitman sits nearer the middle.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
8 notable people were born here, including Francis Spellman and Steve Smith.
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