Best PlacesWorcester County, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Worcester County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Worcester County ranks 312th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $107,234, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are childcare costs, an overheated housing market, and noise.
The best neighborhoods in Worcester County
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.
The best areas in Worcester County
The parts of Worcester County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Shrewsbury, Westborough & Northborough
More adults hold degrees, local pay stretches further, and schools score higher.
Milford, Uxbridge & Whitinsville
Incomes run higher and tree cover is thicker.
Leominster, Clinton & Lunenburg
Fewer homes sit empty.
Spencer, Rutland & North Brookfield
It is quieter, though fewer households have young kids.
Auburn, Webster & Oxford
Prices have run up less.
Fitchburg
Biking is better.
Gardner, Athol & Winchendon
Homes cost less, though streets are more car-dependent.
Southbridge Town, Dudley & Charlton
Transit reaches fewer jobs.
Worcester
Fewer residents vote and crime runs higher.
Worcester County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 8% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Worcester County's strengths and weaknesses
Worcester County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Low crime is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Big-city access and high incomes follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. An overheated housing market and noise also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Worcester County ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of counties
- Household income$107,234 median, better than 95% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 93% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 92% of counties
Where Worcester County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,648 a month, better than only 1% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 11% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 17% of counties
- Short commute29.2 minutes each way, better than only 19% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Worcester County
A household needs to earn about $123,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Worcester County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $107,234, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Worcester County's effective rate of 1.24%, 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 Worcester County
Worcester County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Worcester County.
Who works in Worcester County, and how
Work in Worcester County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Worcester County
Worcester County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of counties and more parkland per resident than 79% of counties. The coast is about 54 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Worcester County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Worcester County growing, and who is moving in?
Worcester County has grown about 8% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Boston, MA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Worcester County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Worcester County, month by month
Worcester County sees roughly 74 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 Worcester County
The nearest airport, Worcester Regional, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 41 miles away.
The best schools in and around Worcester County
Schools across Worcester County average a C+, better than 58% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Albert S. Woodward Memorial SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Hildreth Elementary SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Spring Street SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hopkinton Middle SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- P Brent TrottierA+ · 68% proficient
- Sarah W Gibbons MiddleA+ · 68% proficient
Top high schools
- Westborough HighA+ · 88% proficient
- Hopkinton HighA+ · 87% proficient
- Algonquin Regional HighA+ · 86% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Worcester County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Worcester County 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 Worcester County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Worcester County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 79% of counties and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Worcester County
Is Worcester County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Worcester County ranks 312th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low crime, big-city access, and high incomes, and lowest on childcare costs and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Worcester County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $442,756. The overall cost of living runs about 14% above the national average. Set against a $107,234 median income, cost of living beats 79% of counties.
Is Worcester County safe?
Yes, Worcester County is safer than 99% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $185 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Worcester County?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 37 with lows near 19. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 29% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Worcester County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Shrewsbury, Westborough & Northborough, Milford, Uxbridge & Whitinsville, and Leominster, Clinton & Lunenburg. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Worcester County good for families?
Schools beat 58% of counties, crime safety beats 99%, and childcare runs $1,648 a month.
Is Worcester County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 79% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 42% of counties. About 16% of workers already work from home.
Compare Worcester County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Worcester County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Worcester County 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.
Worcester County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Worcester County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Worcester County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Worcester County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Worcester County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Worcester County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.