Bay State Atlas
Massachusetts Living Index

Harvard

Central MA · pop. 6,928

Harvard (the town, not the university) is one of the wealthiest small towns in Massachusetts, with conservation land covering more than a third of the town and a school district that routinely ranks in the state's top 20. Fruitlands Museum and the Nashua River trail system give this rural enclave unusual cultural depth.

Rural RetreatTrail Town
Livability Index
55
/ 100
Ranks #127 of 194 MA towns

The numbers

Median home
$916k
4.3× household income
Household income
$214k
ACS median
Commute to Boston
58 min
peak driving
Population
6,928
5-yr trend 70/100

How Harvard scores

Schools
90
Safety
93
Walkability
10
Transit
8
Biking
25
Dining
22
Nightlife
18
Arts & Culture
25
Green Space
65
Diversity
25
Climate
72

Who lives in Harvard

U.S. Census ACS 2018–2022 estimates. Rounded.

Median age
42.4
Foreign-born
10.9%
Bachelor's or higher
64.6%
Population
6,835
White78.1%
Hispanic / Latino9.8%
Asian5.3%
Black6%
Other / multi0.8%

Schools in Harvard

Harvard School District. Massachusetts DESE FY2024 (FY2025 graduation rates).

Overall vs MA
Top 10% in MA
96/100
ELA · 3-8
p97
69.7%
Math · 3-8
p86
66.3%
ELA · 10
p100
94.3%
Math · 10
p99
87.6%
Grad rate
100%
Top 10% in MA
Spend / pupil
$25.3k
Top 25% in MA
Teachers / 100
8.7
Above average
Enrollment
1,019

Source: Massachusetts DESE Education-to-Career Research and Data Hub. Percentile ranks against 194 MA towns in our index.

The honest read

Best for
High-income buyers who want maximum conservation land, top-tier schools, and rural character without giving up proximity to Route 495.
The tradeoff
Home prices over $900k with almost no services; transit is essentially non-existent and the commute to Boston tops 55 minutes.

You've now seen the honest read. Here's what most sites don't give you.

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Compare on your terms

These scores reflect a neutral weighting. Your priorities are not neutral. Open the full atlas to tune schools, walkability, affordability, commute, and seven more dimensions, and see where Harvard lands for you.

Nearby towns

Bordering and adjacent Massachusetts towns near Harvard.

Harvard appears in

Rankings where Harvard qualifies on the data. See where it lands vs the other 14 picks.

Popular comparisons

Common head‑to‑heads people search when looking at Harvard.

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