Marlborough, Massachusetts

Area Profile

41,647 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Marlborough, in Middlesex County.

65out of 100
Area Score
Top 30% of 4,203 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
Opportunity2,107th of 4,206 cities measured56
SchoolsTop 43% of 4,162 cities measured55
GrowthTop 25% of 4,224 cities measured62
Housing affordability3,173rd of 4,225 cities measured53
Climate3,358th of 4,225 cities measured62
Physical resilienceTop 14% of 4,226 cities measured88
Access2,736th of 4,226 cities measured88
Economic stabilityTop 29% of 4,226 cities measured68
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.3% and median household income $91,968, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

In the public schools here, 49% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 11.5 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 35% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.9 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
41,647
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$91,968
Top 23% nationally
Density
1,996/sq mi
20.9 sq mi of land
Median age
37.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Massachusetts
Nearest major airport
BOS
28 mi · General Edward Lawrence Logan Intl
Median home value
$513,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.3%, lower than in 51% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 1.6% over the past year, to 22,802 employed residents.

40% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 82% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsMiddlesex County, MA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$106,40987th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftMiddlesex County, MA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$125,88195th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$9,0702024 ACS 5-Year$91,968Top 23%of 29,3262024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,7332024 ACS 5-Year$46,241Top 22%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year9.6%Top 45%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year32.2 minBottom 25%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year40.5%Top 18%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year65.2%19th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202622,802Bottom 27%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.6%Bottom 44%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.6%Bottom 32%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202623,83227th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year85.5%Top 22%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageBoston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$89,620Top 10%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageBoston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$66,620Top 10%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%78th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 20260.0%Bottom 45%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.3%Top 49%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year16.2%79th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.82.4
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.3% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 2 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202495k86k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $91,968 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides72,420$40,910
General and Operations Managers70,950$133,800
Registered Nurses64,240$106,180
Retail Salespersons64,150$36,850
Fast Food and Counter Workers60,130$36,290
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners43,160$46,550

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

49% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 53% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 11.5 students for every full-time teacher across 9 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
9
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
11.5
across all schools here
Math proficiency
49.3%
Bottom 45% in Massachusetts
Reading proficiency
52.6%
Bottom 47% in Massachusetts
All 9 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Assabet Valley Vocational High SchoolAssabet Valley Regional Vocational Technical1,14410.154%53%
Marlborough HighMarlborough98511.341%48%
Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School · charterAdvanced Math and Science Academy Charter97012.079%80%
1 LT Charles W. Whitcomb SchoolMarlborough9659.433%39%
Goodnow Brothers Elementary SchoolMarlborough78113.5——
Charles Jaworek SchoolMarlborough63112.446%53%
RicherMarlborough59613.550%49%
Francis J KaneMarlborough57513.434%40%
Early Childhood CenterMarlborough19515.0——

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Massachusetts’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 10% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 110.4, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA Metropolitan Division is up 40% over five years, and up 2.8% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $5,747 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.12% of the median home value.

The typical renter household here spends 35% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,871 a month.

A median home at $513,100 costs 3.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $130,507, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
110.4

Prices here run about 10% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
34.8%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Median gross rent
$1,871
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$513,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Marlborough’s median household income of $91,968, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area’s figure2023110.4Bottom 22%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+2.8%45th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+39.7%40th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+88.3%42nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year3.9Bottom 18%of 26,9012024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year56.0%15th percentileof 31,8402024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±7002024 ACS 5-Year17,24797th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$1232024 ACS 5-Year$1,871Bottom 10%of 23,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$28,2902024 ACS 5-Year$513,10089th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2402024 ACS 5-Year$5,74792nd percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,4282024 ACS 5-Year$130,507Top 11%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.08%2024 ACS 5-Year1.12%59th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year34.8%Bottom 21%of 23,0522024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±942024 ACS 5-Year10790th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%58th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.8%25th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2352024 ACS 5-Year58291st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

62/ 100
Top 25% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 1% since 2020, reaching 42,169 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 4 units authorized in 2025, 99% below the prior year.

97% of the 128 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show Middlesex County, which contains Marlborough, lost about 0.7% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $106,409, below the $125,881 of households that moved out.

At 3.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
128
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.1
Top 44% nationally
Year over year
+29%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
96.9%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202442k41k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 3 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.7%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
51%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$106,409
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$125,881
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Suffolk County, MA 13,242 people · 20% of arrivals
  2. Essex County, MA 6,252 people · 9.6% of arrivals
  3. Norfolk County, MA 5,010 people · 7.7% of arrivals
  4. Worcester County, MA 4,356 people · 6.7% of arrivals
  5. Hillsborough County, NH 1,666 people · 2.6% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Suffolk County, MA 9,405 people · 13% of departures
  2. Worcester County, MA 7,627 people · 10% of departures
  3. Essex County, MA 7,552 people · 10% of departures
  4. Norfolk County, MA 5,643 people · 7.5% of departures
  5. Hillsborough County, NH 3,235 people · 4.3% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Middlesex County, MA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420253234.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−84%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 18°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 42.6 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 37, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BEDFORD HANSCOM FLD, 15.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year542024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals42.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals18°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year372024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals46°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
37
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
54
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

88 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 70% of it. inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 86% of measured US cities.

Ice stormModerate
EarthquakeElevated
Heat waveModerate
HurricaneModerate
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: inland flooding, lightning, strong wind, cold wave, tornado, wildfire, winter weather, coastal flooding, landslide, hail, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
488
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
920
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Marlborough's police department reported 488 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 920.

Middlesex County records 0.9 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 2.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 12.6 per 100,000 residents in Middlesex County.

Homicide
0.9
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
2.0
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
12.6
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
7.4
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Marlborough’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Marlborough (Middlesex County) rather than Marlborough itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest General Edward Lawrence Logan Intl at 28 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year93.2%Top 33%of 31,7112024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle28 miBottom 31%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 27%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.6%Top 40%of 31,7112024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
General Edward Lawrence Logan IntlBOS28 mi10,083 ft
Manchester Boston RgnlMHT41 mi9,250 ft
Rhode Island TF Green IntlPVD44 mi8,700 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
65
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Other cities in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
BostonSuffolk County666,44262Boston vs Marlborough
CambridgeMiddlesex County118,79670Cambridge vs Marlborough
LowellMiddlesex County118,36860Lowell vs Marlborough
BrocktonPlymouth County105,38651
QuincyNorfolk County102,11469
LynnEssex County101,70954
NewtonMiddlesex County89,04472
LawrenceEssex County88,73648
SomervilleMiddlesex County81,03666
FraminghamMiddlesex County72,39963
HaverhillEssex County67,69856
MaldenMiddlesex County65,90663

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Marlborough side by side with a similar place.

Marlborough vs MilfordMarlborough vs Lockport

Moving to Marlborough from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated September 26, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Marlborough

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Marlborough with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Marlborough closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
0175241,647$91,968$513,100—