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Town comparison · Massachusetts

Northborough vs Westborough

Central MA · Central MA
Westborough leads 4–2 on headline livability metrics

Across the six headline livability metrics (schools, safety, walkability, biking, affordability, and commute), Westborough edges Northborough 4 to 2. Median home prices are close, within $40k of each other. Schools tilt clearly toward Westborough (95 vs. 80).

The two towns at a glance

Northborough

Central MA · pop. 15,741
Quiet bedroom community wedged between Westborough and Marlborough with good schools, big lots, and zero reason to leave the house once you move in. The Apple Hill subdivision and newer construction along Route 20 have attracted young families priced out of Hopkinton.
56
Default fit score
equal weights, 0–100
Full Northborough profile →

Westborough

Central MA · pop. 22,643
Tech corridor suburb anchored by a MBTA commuter rail stop and a walkable town center with more Indian and Asian restaurants than you'd expect. Westborough's school district earned Niche's top A+ rating and the town has seen major corporate campus investment.
59
Default fit score
equal weights, 0–100
Full Westborough profile →

Head-to-head: every metric

Northborough Westborough
Headline
Livability index 56 61 ✦
Economics
Median home $702k $742k ✦
Household income $155k ✦ $142k
Price ÷ income 4.5× 5.2× ✦
Tax burden 62 ✦ 60
Schools & Safety
Schools 80 95 ✦
Safety 88 ✦ 85
Getting around
Commute to Boston 58 min ✦ 55 min
Walkability 28 35 ✦
Transit 25 28 ✦
Biking 30 32 ✦
Lifestyle
Dining 50 58 ✦
Nightlife 25 32 ✦
Arts & culture 30 38 ✦
Green space 38 ✦ 35
Community
Diversity 42 55 ✦
Climate 70 70
5-yr trend 68 72 ✦

Clay = wins this metric. Direction matters: lower median home and shorter commute are better; everything else, higher is better.

Compare on your terms

These winners are based on a neutral, equal weighting of every metric. Your priorities are not neutral. Open Northborough vs Westborough in the interactive atlas to tune schools, walkability, affordability, commute, and seven more dimensions, and watch the verdict change.

Re-weight Northborough vs Westborough About Gary Browse all 194 towns

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About this comparison

Bay State Atlas ranks 194 Massachusetts towns using public data (Census ACS, MA DESE schools, Walk Score, MA Department of Revenue tax data, and the FBI UCR safety index) normalized to 0–100. Every weight is editable. This page is a static, indexable snapshot. The live tool is faster and lets you customize what counts.