Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Woburn grades B overall, ranked 177th of 282 in Massachusetts. It has 24 miles of trail. Residents are healthier than 88% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $753K for a typical one and 6.5 times the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. Woburn is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns. Woburn’s trail density is 1.9 miles per square mile, against 1.8 in Massachusetts’ towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Only 29 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns score higher on hazard risk.
Where Woburn beats most towns.
Woburn Public Library is one of 2 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,727 in 1790, 40,876 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1642 and 6 maps from 1893 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Woburn is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Woburn. Close and well known come first.
Big draw10 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw11 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
10 mi LakeWalden Pond
10 mi AttractionFreedom Trail
9 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 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Harvard Stadium: Nick Allen, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Woburn, 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 Woburn.
Woburn draws workers from Boston and beyond and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Massachusetts; it also trails Lexington and its other neighbors on schools.
41,428 jobs are based in Woburn, 2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Woburn for work: only 15% work in town. Woburn’s median household income is $111,000, where Massachusetts’ towns sit at $120,000 and U.S. towns at $80,000. The average trip to work in Woburn is 25 minutes.
| Woburn | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $111,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 16% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Each of its 6 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its C+, Lexington highest at A+.
Its public schools are run by the Woburn school district. Two of its 11 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| John F Kennedy Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 521 | B− |
| Woburn HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,259 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Within Massachusetts it is healthier than 53% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar.
26% of Woburn adults have obesity. Woburn beats the Massachusetts average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 30% of Woburn adults have high blood pressure.
| Woburn | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 28% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 12% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 33% | 33% |
| What stands out | Woburn | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.8% | 11.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.4% | 5.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 89% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 40 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Woburn.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The biggest place to walk is Horn Pond Conservation Area, 412 acres with 7.6 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Horn Pond Conservation Area | 7.6 mi | 412 |
| 2. Whispering Hill Woods | 2 mi | 75 |
| 3. Weafer Park | 1.2 mi | 35 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Woburn has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. 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
Woburn’s median rent is $2,221 a month. The typical Woburn home is worth about $753,000, up 2% in a year, 15% above the Massachusetts typical home. 56% of households own their home in Woburn.
| Woburn | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,221 a month | $1,682 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 56% | 79% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reported crimes fell from 482 to 456 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Massachusetts has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Woburn sits closer to the middle.
| Woburn | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Massachusetts average. Woburn has grown 7.5% since 2020, to 43,962 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 47% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 47% across Massachusetts.
| Woburn | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 18% | 20% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 47% | 47% | 29% |
| Median age | 39.3 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.7 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 40.7, men 37.4.
| Woburn | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.7% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.3% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.7% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.9% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.7% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.9% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.7% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.1% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.4% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.5% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.5% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.4% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 19.1% | 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 Woburn
About 5 of every 100 Woburn residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
Where Woburn’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
9 places in Woburn on the National Register of Historic Places.
31 notable people were born in Woburn.
City in Massachusetts, United States
Woburn ( WOO-bərn) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,876 at the 2020 census. Woburn is located 9 miles (14 km) north of Boston. Woburn uses Massachusetts' mayor-council form of government, in which an elected mayor is the executive and a partly district-based, partly at-large city council is the legislature. It was the last of Massachusetts' 351 municipalities to refer to members of its city council as "aldermen".
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Woburn.
All 6 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its B; Burlington (B+) is closest.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woburn | #177 | B | D | B | C+ | A |
| Burlington | #131 | B+ | D | C+ | B+ | A+ |
| Reading | #19 | A+ | D | A | A− | A+ |
| Winchester | #13 | A+ | D | A | A | A+ |
| Lexington | #10 | A+ | D | A | A+ | A+ |
| Stoneham | #84 | A− | D | B+ | B | A+ |
| Wilmington | #108 | A− | D | B | B | A |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Woburn grades B overall, better than 58% of U.S. towns and #177 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A for health, B for safety and C+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes, by national standards. Massachusetts has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Woburn 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 D.
31 notable people were born here, including Benjamin Thompson and Christopher J. Coyne.
