The 10 Dumbest Places In Massachusetts For 2026

The unfortunate fact of the matter is that some places in the Bay State have a larger percent of their population that never graduated from high school.

While the emphasis on going to college might be overblown, the fact is that not graduating from high school puts you at a significant disadvantage on average. Educational attainment might not be the best way to measure one person’s intelligence, but it does shine a light on the state.

We will use Saturday Night Science to determine what places in Massachusetts have the highest percentage of adults without a high school degree.

A recent study we published found that Massachusetts is the 2nd smartest state in the United States, with an average IQ of 103.

But that doesn’t mean that a few cities in Massachusetts are a bit slower than others due to a lack of basic education.

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

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The 10 Dumbest Places In Massachusetts

1. Fall River
2. Lawrence
3. Chelsea
4. New Bedford
5. Springfield
6. Everett
7. Brockton
8. Lynn
9. Taunton
10. Holyoke

Don’t freak out.

Some places are just smarter than others, but that says nothing about the character of the people living there. It’s another data point a real estate agent would never tell you.

For this ranking, we only looked at cities with populations greater than 12,000, leaving us 39 cities in Massachusetts to rank. You can take a look at the data below.

For more Massachusetts reading, check out:

• Best Places To Live In Massachusetts
• Safest Places To Live In Massachusetts

The 10 Dumbest Places In Massachusetts For 2026

1. Fall River

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 94,082
% Adult High School Dropout: 24.0%
% Highly Educated: 16.0%
More on Fall River: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

2. Lawrence

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 88,736
% Adult High School Dropout: 27.0%
% Highly Educated: 17.0%
More on Lawrence: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

3. Chelsea

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 39,908
% Adult High School Dropout: 30.0%
% Highly Educated: 21.0%
More on Chelsea: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

4. New Bedford

Source: Wikipedia User PenitentWhaler | CC BY-SA 4.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 100,998
% Adult High School Dropout: 23.0%
% Highly Educated: 17.0%
More on New Bedford: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

5. Springfield

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 154,749
% Adult High School Dropout: 21.0%
% Highly Educated: 20.0%
More on Springfield: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

6. Everett

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 50,045
% Adult High School Dropout: 23.0%
% Highly Educated: 24.0%
More on Everett: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

7. Brockton

Source: Wikipedia User John Phelan | CC BY 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 105,386
% Adult High School Dropout: 19.0%
% Highly Educated: 22.0%
More on Brockton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

8. Lynn

Source: Wikipedia User Jameslwoodward | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 101,709
% Adult High School Dropout: 22.0%
% Highly Educated: 24.0%
More on Lynn: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

9. Taunton

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 60,433
% Adult High School Dropout: 15.0%
% Highly Educated: 23.0%
More on Taunton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

10. Holyoke

Source: Wikipedia User John Phelan | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 37,813
% Adult High School Dropout: 22.0%
% Highly Educated: 25.0%
More on Holyoke: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

Methodology: How we determined the dumbest cities in the Bay State

We realize that formal education is only part of it when it comes to being intelligent, but on the other hand, knowing the difference between they’re, their, and there is always going to make you look pretty stupid.

So, we used Saturday Night Science to narrow down our criteria to focus on a city’s educational opportunities and what percentage of the population takes advantage of those opportunities.

In short, we came up with these criteria to determine the dumbest cities in Massachusetts:

• % of the city’s population with less than a high school education (Age 25+)
• % of city’s population with a college degree (Age 25+)

We got the data from the U.S. Census 2020-2024 American Community Survey.

Then, our algorithm generates a rank for each place in these categories. After crunching all the numbers, a ranking of the cities in Massachusetts from dumbest to brightest.

For this ranking, we used every Massachusetts city with at least 12,000 residents. We updated this article for 2026, and it’s our eleventh time ranking the dumbest cities in Massachusetts.

There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep

If you’re measuring the locations in Massachusetts where there are a high number of dropouts and adults who never received a formal education, this is an accurate ranking.

The dumbest cities in Massachusetts are Fall River, Lawrence, Chelsea, New Bedford, Springfield, Everett, Brockton, Lynn, Taunton, and Holyoke.

If you’re also curious enough, here are the smartest places in Massachusetts, according to science:

1. Cambridge
2. Newton
3. Newburyport

For more Massachusetts reading, check out:

• Best Places To Live In Massachusetts
• Cheapest Places To Live In Massachusetts
• Most Dangerous Cities In Massachusetts
• Richest Cities In Massachusetts
• Safest Places In Massachusetts
• Worst Places To Live In Massachusetts
• Most Expensive Places To Live In Massachusetts

Dumbest Cities In Massachusetts For 2026