Bay State Atlas
Massachusetts Living Index

Townsend

MetroWest · pop. 9,200

Townsend is the quiet half of the North Middlesex district, rural and affordable with a working-class character, sharing a high school with Pepperell in Townsend center.

Commuter ValueRural Retreat
Livability Index
46
/ 100
Ranks #191 of 194 MA towns

The numbers

Median home
$500k
4.1× household income
Household income
$122k
ACS median
Commute to Boston
74 min
peak driving
Population
9,200
5-yr trend 55/100

How Townsend scores

Schools
68
Safety
80
Walkability
22
Transit
22
Biking
18
Dining
25
Nightlife
12
Arts & Culture
15
Green Space
52
Diversity
15
Climate
72

Who lives in Townsend

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

Median age
43.1
Foreign-born
4.6%
Bachelor's or higher
37.8%
Population
9,070
White86.8%
Hispanic / Latino4.1%
Asian3.3%
Black3.1%
Other / multi2.7%

Schools in Townsend

North Middlesex School District. Massachusetts DESE FY2024 (FY2025 graduation rates).

Overall vs MA
Below average
39/100
ELA · 3-8
p34
36.4%
Math · 3-8
p32
35.6%
ELA · 10
p54
62.4%
Math · 10
p43
46%
Grad rate
90.9%
Below average
Spend / pupil
$20.5k
Below average
Teachers / 100
8
Below average
Enrollment
2,994

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

The honest read

Best for
Budget buyers who don't need to commute to Boston often and want real land for the money.
The tradeoff
Limited services, below-average schools, and the train station is in Ayer not Townsend, add 15 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 Townsend lands for you.

Nearby towns

Bordering and adjacent Massachusetts towns near Townsend.

Townsend appears in

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

Popular comparisons

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

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