The 10 Worst Small Towns In Massachusetts For 2025

Most Americans have never been to small town Massachusetts. However, as the Bay Stater who live there know, small town Massachusetts is an awesome place to call home.

But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Massachusetts has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using Saturday Night Science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Bay State. Don’t freak out, we will use data to show which places have high crime, poverty, and unemployment.

After analyzing more than 104 of Massachusetts’s smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Massachusetts where you’d never want to live:

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Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

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These are the worst small towns in Massachusetts for 2025:

1. West Wareham
2. Monson Center
3. Orange
4. Baldwinville
5. Shelburne Falls
6. Townsend
7. West Brookfield
8. Winchendon
9. Smith Mills
10. Dennis Port

So what is the worst small town to call home in Massachusetts for 2025? According to the most recent census data, West Wareham is the worst small town to live in Massachusetts.

While many of these small towns have seen better days, they have wonderful communities and people. This report in no way means to knock the folks that call towns like West Wareham home. Everyone

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.

And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in Massachusetts or the worst places to live in Massachusetts.

If you’re looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.

The 10 Worst Small Towns In Massachusetts For 2025

1. West Wareham

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,776
Median Home Value: $204,200
Median Income: $55,900
Unemployment Rate: 11.4%

2. Monson Center

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,794
Median Home Value: $279,500
Median Income: $58,603
Unemployment Rate: 16.6%

3. Orange

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 3,793
Median Home Value: $217,200
Median Income: $53,014
Unemployment Rate: 14.1%

4. Baldwinville

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,454
Median Home Value: $284,900
Median Income: $56,957
Unemployment Rate: 21.2%

5. Shelburne Falls

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,755
Median Home Value: $296,000
Median Income: $52,604
Unemployment Rate: 7.2%

6. Townsend

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,082
Median Home Value: $344,400
Median Income: $56,726
Unemployment Rate: 2.2%

7. West Brookfield

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,518
Median Home Value: $282,900
Median Income: $59,734
Unemployment Rate: 9.1%

8. Winchendon

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 4,407
Median Home Value: $258,300
Median Income: $67,188
Unemployment Rate: 6.2%

9. Smith Mills

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 4,467
Median Home Value: $384,600
Median Income: $56,250
Unemployment Rate: 6.4%

10. Dennis Port

Source: Wikipedia User | None

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 3,439
Median Home Value: $450,500
Median Income: $61,974
Unemployment Rate: 7.2%

Next 10 Towns

Methodology: How do you decide if a small place in Massachusetts is lousy or not?

To rank the worst small towns to live in Massachusetts, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. Assuming that people like low crime, solid education, things to do, and a stable economy isn’t a stretch.

We then analyzed the criteria using Saturday Night Science, the thinking you’d use at a bar. It seems like even your crazy Uncle would agree that a town with high crime is worse than a town with low crime; all else the same.

Using FBI crime data and the Census’s 2019-2023 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:

• Population Density (The lower, the worse)
• Highest Unemployment Rates
• Low housing costs (meaning there’s no demand)
• Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
• Education (Number of high school dropouts)
• High Crime

We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which there were many – 104 to be exact.

We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets them from the cities. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.

We base all our research on facts, which is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2025, which is our tenth time ranking the worst small places to live in Massachusetts.

There You Have It – The Worst Small Towns In Massachusetts

If you’re analyzing teeny places in the Bay State with the worst economic situations, where there’s high crime and there’s not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.

The worst small towns in Massachusetts are West Wareham, Monson Center, Orange, Baldwinville, Shelburne Falls, Townsend, West Brookfield, Winchendon, Smith Mills, and Dennis Port.

If you’re curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in Massachusetts, according to science:

1. Sagamore (Pop. 3,958)
2. Topsfield (Pop. 2,573)
3. Hopkinton (Pop. 3,142)

For more Massachusetts reading, check out:

Worst Small Towns In Massachusetts

Rank	Town	Population	Unemployment Rate	Home Value	Median Income
1	West Wareham	2,776	11.4%	$204,200	$55,900
2	Monson Center	1,794	16.6%	$279,500	$58,603
3	Orange	3,793	14.1%	$217,200	$53,014
4	Baldwinville	2,454	21.2%	$284,900	$56,957
5	Shelburne Falls	1,755	7.2%	$296,000	$52,604
6	Townsend	1,082	2.2%	$344,400	$56,726
7	West Brookfield	1,518	9.1%	$282,900	$59,734
8	Winchendon	4,407	6.2%	$258,300	$67,188
9	Smith Mills	4,467	6.4%	$384,600	$56,250
10	Dennis Port	3,439	7.2%	$450,500	$61,974
11	Devens	1,871	4.4%	$464,000	$113,125
12	North Plymouth	4,458	16.5%	$456,600	$71,205
13	North Eastham	1,958	10.2%	$641,200	$80,375
14	Holland	1,313	3.8%	$281,000	$83,382
15	Millers Falls	1,081	5.5%	$222,600	$63,646
16	North Brookfield	2,477	4.0%	$235,000	$75,956
17	Groton	1,571	5.1%	$736,800	$1,000
18	South Ashburnham	1,174	0.0%	$323,400	$82,006
19	Pepperell	1,887	6.4%	$399,700	$76,196
20	Wilbraham	4,247	4.1%	$361,600	$88,409
21	Belchertown	2,299	1.1%	$331,500	$68,393
22	North Westport	4,995	2.0%	$389,300	$85,120
23	Acushnet Center	2,792	6.7%	$313,100	$69,159
24	Turners Falls	3,949	3.0%	$235,500	$56,729
25	South Lancaster	1,991	17.1%	$370,200	$104,745
26	Marshfield	4,698	5.1%	$646,400	$99,537
27	Onset	1,561	18.2%	$415,500	$1,000
28	Granby	1,127	4.7%	$299,700	$126,136
29	Ocean Grove	3,099	8.4%	$337,800	$97,109
30	Lenox	1,809	0.0%	$411,700	$58,920
31	Fiskdale	2,564	8.5%	$359,200	$92,273
32	Northwest Harwich	4,205	10.4%	$596,800	$89,063
33	Ayer	3,012	2.9%	$417,300	$81,286
34	Falmouth	3,996	3.4%	$745,900	$68,267
35	Great Barrington	1,953	2.2%	$459,000	$57,071
36	Wareham Center	2,737	1.1%	$411,500	$88,424
37	Bellingham	4,939	10.5%	$385,300	$88,731
38	Provincetown	3,466	8.5%	$786,900	$123,456
39	South Deerfield	1,822	5.1%	$419,100	$97,250
40	Weweantic	1,384	14.0%	$418,700	$1,000
41	Lee	1,522	4.3%	$265,900	$70,306
42	Chatham	1,614	8.5%	$1,550,000	$82,269
43	South Dennis	3,190	3.4%	$454,400	$86,500
44	Norton Center	2,526	3.6%	$418,400	$114,051
45	Hopedale	4,126	4.4%	$399,100	$111,016
46	Harwich Port	2,011	3.7%	$654,900	$64,813
47	North Lakeville	3,602	2.1%	$488,400	$88,750
48	Rutland	1,796	4.8%	$357,700	$102,885
49	Harwich Center	1,620	3.4%	$546,600	$76,944
50	Buzzards Bay	2,941	2.4%	$453,500	$95,847
51	Raynham Center	4,871	4.9%	$510,800	$120,913
52	Sandwich	2,976	4.6%	$511,000	$108,583
53	East Dennis	3,685	4.5%	$658,500	$100,504
54	East Brookfield	1,349	2.2%	$337,500	$70,625
55	West Falmouth	1,655	10.3%	$734,000	$115,735
56	Mattapoisett Center	2,573	3.0%	$649,200	$99,864
57	Orleans	1,618	0.0%	$542,500	$76,768
58	East Pepperell	1,984	4.4%	$415,200	$111,736
59	Teaticket	1,728	1.4%	$488,700	$85,669
60	West Chatham	1,337	6.0%	$743,100	$135,199
61	Brewster	1,711	6.7%	$702,000	$75,481
62	Forestdale	3,716	2.7%	$462,500	$105,368
63	Lunenburg	2,163	1.9%	$439,600	$112,422
64	Millis-Clicquot	4,479	2.2%	$487,700	$116,324
65	Rockport	4,795	8.8%	$694,300	$86,250
66	White Island Shores	1,880	6.7%	$366,800	$104,940
67	Littleton Common	2,838	7.6%	$551,800	$129,347
68	West Dennis	2,586	0.7%	$580,900	$93,958
69	Williamstown	4,352	1.9%	$436,900	$82,917
70	Hatfield	1,361	1.4%	$460,300	$109,625
71	East Sandwich	3,597	2.9%	$651,900	$128,750
72	Westborough	4,234	2.5%	$540,600	$100,037
73	North Pembroke	3,924	1.9%	$521,400	$177,703
74	Pocasset	2,375	0.9%	$607,700	$84,544
75	Hanson	2,002	6.0%	$490,700	$115,109
76	Sturbridge	2,277	0.0%	$404,700	$129,413
77	North Seekonk	2,903	6.2%	$417,300	$110,541
78	Ipswich	4,806	3.4%	$570,500	$92,969
79	Bourne	1,765	6.2%	$521,100	$125,366
80	Boxford	2,325	4.5%	$977,400	$238,375
81	Shirley	1,256	8.1%	$378,700	$1,000
82	Dennis	1,903	3.1%	$835,300	$127,292
83	Monument Beach	3,067	1.6%	$540,600	$86,953
84	Marion Center	1,159	5.9%	$622,600	$180,130
85	Upton	2,985	5.5%	$474,600	$109,925
86	East Douglas	2,842	1.6%	$400,900	$141,042
87	Ocean Bluff-Brant Rock	4,695	3.7%	$483,600	$118,625
88	Duxbury	1,620	4.4%	$1,386,200	$126,750
89	Vineyard Haven	2,672	0.9%	$815,000	$73,917
90	Nahant	3,328	5.1%	$686,000	$111,004
91	Mashpee Neck	1,071	4.2%	$578,400	$131,250
92	North Falmouth	2,558	6.0%	$656,400	$133,571
93	Dover	2,386	13.2%	$1,230,600	$250,001
94	Marshfield Hills	2,121	0.0%	$750,600	$210,096
95	Cordaville	3,076	4.1%	$730,600	$161,023
96	Housatonic	1,054	0.0%	$429,200	$86,920
97	Hanscom Afb	1,745	1.1%	$1,000	$101,194
98	South Duxbury	3,272	4.6%	$987,500	$206,111
99	The Pinehills	4,988	3.9%	$669,100	$121,792
100	Essex	1,775	1.4%	$774,400	$156,094