Best PlacesSouth Barre, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Barre, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
South Barre ranks 8,965th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in South Barre
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
South Barre's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Barre ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 92% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 90% of towns
- Household income$105,911 median, better than 88% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 88% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of towns
Where South Barre ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,648 a month, better than only 1% of towns
- Short commute37.0 minutes each way, better than only 10% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 14% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 20% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Barre
A household needs to earn about $111,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Barre home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $105,911; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses South Barre's effective rate of 1.19%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in South Barre
South Barre runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for South Barre.
Who works in South Barre, and how
Work in South Barre centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in South Barre
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across South Barre.
What the weather is like in South Barre, month by month
South Barre sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 28° | 19° |
| April | 58° | 46° | 36° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 64° | 53° | 44° |
Flying in and out of South Barre
The nearest airport, Worcester Regional, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 43 miles away.
The best schools in and around South Barre
Schools across South Barre average a B, better than 69% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Hardwick ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
- Ruggles LaneB− · 40% proficient
- Oakham CenterC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central Tree MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
- Quabbin Regional Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Quabbin Regional High SchoolA · 70% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Barre school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Barre measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare South Barre against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in South Barre
Is South Barre a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Barre ranks 8,965th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on big-city access, heat safety, and high incomes, and lowest on childcare costs and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Barre expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $404,401. The overall cost of living runs about 9% above the national average. Set against a $105,911 median income, cost of living beats 70% of towns.
Is South Barre safe?
Yes, South Barre is safer than 88% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $184 per resident a year.
Compare South Barre with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Barre. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Barre represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
South Barre detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Barre: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Barre: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Barre: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Barre: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Barre detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.