Massachusetts · NCES CCD 2024-25

Best-Resourced School Districts in Massachusetts

Top 50 districts ranked by average school quality score, based on student-teacher ratios, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance.

Compiled by PlainSchools, Education-data publisher · August 26, 2026

The ranking in one line

Dover-Sherborn in Dover leads Massachusetts's districts with an average school quality score of 59.5/100 across 2 schools.

59.5/100
top district score (grade C): 2
schools in Dover-Sherborn: 1,180
students in the top district: 52/100
average across the top 50

#	District	Grade	Students	Schools	Avg S:T	Per-Pupil $	Avg Quality
1	Dover-SherbornDover	C	1,180	2	10.8:1	$24,869	59.5
2	BedfordBedford	C	2,575	4	11:1	$23,503	58.3
3	WaylandWayland	C	2,783	6	11.5:1	$23,723	57.5
4	IpswichIpswich	C	1,624	4	9.6:1	$24,214	57.5
5	MillisMillis	C	1,221	4	9.5:1	$21,550	56.8
6	MonsonMonson	C	835	3	9.8:1	$22,407	56.7
7	CohassetCohasset	C-	1,420	4	11.8:1	$22,987	54.8
8	MasconometBoxford	C-	1,610	2	11.3:1	$24,596	54.5
9	WestonWeston	C-	2,022	5	13.4:1	$31,619	54
10	GranbyGranby	C-	723	2	11.1:1	$19,086	54
11	WinchesterWinchester	C-	4,392	7	12.2:1	$19,628	53.9
12	AmherstAmherst	C-	1,054	3	9.5:1	$30,818	53.7
13	RockportRockport	C-	748	3	9.2:1	$28,301	53
14	WalpoleWalpole	C-	3,683	8	11.5:1	$20,507	52.4
15	WestfordWestford	C-	4,762	9	12.3:1	$18,414	52.3
16	Manchester Essex RegionalManchester	C-	1,243	4	9.9:1	$25,633	52.3
17	CantonCanton	C-	3,273	6	13.8:1	$21,467	52
18	NewburyportNewburyport	C-	2,191	4	10.1:1	$23,538	52
19	Hamilton-WenhamWenham	C-	1,694	5	11.9:1	$23,388	52
20	WellesleyWellesley	C-	4,219	10	12.5:1	$28,794	51.6
21	MarbleheadMarblehead	C-	2,672	5	10.4:1	$22,906	51.6
22	MarshfieldMarshfield	C-	3,799	7	11.2:1	$19,180	51.3
23	NeedhamNeedham	C-	5,594	8	12.9:1	$23,890	51.3
24	East LongmeadowEast Longmeadow	C-	2,573	5	11.8:1	$19,224	51.2
25	BurlingtonBurlington	C-	3,486	6	10.9:1	$26,873	51.2
26	EasthamptonEasthampton	C-	1,426	2	11.6:1	$18,205	51
27	MaynardMaynard	C-	1,210	3	10.4:1	$26,145	51
28	Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School DistrictSouthwick	C-	1,330	3	10.8:1	$20,050	50.7
29	WalthamWaltham	C-	5,703	10	10.6:1	$26,980	50.6
30	West BoylstonWest Boylston	C-	877	2	11.9:1	$21,323	50.5
31	Hampden-WilbrahamWilbraham	C-	2,887	6	13.7:1	$19,517	50.3
32	WestwoodWestwood	C-	2,914	8	12.4:1	$25,784	50.1
33	ScituateScituate	C-	2,789	6	12.1:1	$21,025	50
34	Amherst-PelhamAmherst	C-	1,242	2	9.6:1	$28,738	50
35	LeeLee	C-	671	2	9.1:1	$23,982	50
36	HinghamHingham	D	3,837	6	11.9:1	$22,240	49.8
37	SeekonkSeekonk	D	2,094	5	11:1	$19,665	49.8
38	MiltonMilton	D	4,370	6	13.5:1	$19,693	49.7
39	HullHull	D	787	3	11:1	$30,605	49.7
40	DuxburyDuxbury	D	2,834	4	12.7:1	$20,599	49.5
41	StonehamStoneham	D	2,309	5	11.7:1	$21,173	49.4
42	LongmeadowLongmeadow	D	2,811	6	11.3:1	$18,739	49.3
43	SomervilleSomerville	D	4,884	11	11.2:1	$29,227	49.3
44	ReadingReading	D	3,899	9	12.6:1	$19,869	49.2
45	WilmingtonWilmington	D	2,840	7	10.7:1	$24,408	49.1
46	NatickNatick	D	5,410	8	12.5:1	$20,952	49.1
47	EastonNorth Easton	D	3,441	4	13:1	$17,684	49
48	King PhilipNorfolk	D	1,841	2	12.8:1	$21,885	49
49	SouthboroughSouthborough	D	1,279	4	12.7:1	$23,795	49
50	LenoxLenox	D	772	2	11.3:1	$24,433	49

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best school districts in Massachusetts? ▼

The top-ranked district in Massachusetts is Dover-Sherborn in Dover with 1,180 students across 2 schools. Average quality score: 59.5/100. Rankings are based on average school quality scores from NCES data.

How are district rankings calculated? ▼

Districts are ranked by the average quality score of their schools. Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES data: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism. Districts must have at least 500 students and 2+ schools to be ranked.

How many school districts are in Massachusetts? ▼

Massachusetts has 50+ school districts serving 918,103 students. The statewide average student-teacher ratio is 12.3:1.

Explore More for Massachusetts

All Schools → Best Schools → Highest Spending → Funding Equity → Absenteeism Data →

Methodology

Districts are ranked by the average quality score of their schools. Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 metrics: student-teacher ratio, school counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism rates. Districts must have at least 500 students and 2+ schools to be included. This measures school-level resources, not test scores. Higher average scores indicate districts where schools generally have smaller classes, better counselor access, and lower absenteeism.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.