There’s no denying it: there are plenty of places in Massachusetts that are downright beautiful and full of excitement.
Unfortunately, not all towns and cities in Bay State are so lucky.
Just like in all U.S. States, there are definitely some boring places within Massachusetts’s’ borders. You know the places where everyone has an AARP card and the most exciting thing they do all day is post a picture of their grandchild on Facebook.
Like Gardner, for instance. In our latest analysis, we found that this city was the most boring city in all of Massachusetts according to Saturday Night Science. But don’t feel bad if you’re a resident of Gardner. There are plenty of other boring, lackluster places in Massachusetts as well.
Here they are. Try not to jump out of your seat with excitement.
43.7 median age · 28.0% married households · #5 oldest in Massachusetts
Located in
Worcester County, Massachusetts
Gardner is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 20,228 at the 2010 census. Gardner is home to Dunn State Park, Gardner Heritage State Park, Lake Wampanoag Wildlife Sanctuary, and Mount Wachusett Community College.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
50.2 median age · 29.0% married households · #1 oldest in Massachusetts
Located in
Essex County, Massachusetts
Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts’ North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census. An important center of the fishing industry and a popular summer destination, Gloucester consists of an urban core on the north side of the harbor and the outlying neighborhoods of Annisquam, Bay View, Lanesville, Folly Cove, Magnolia, Riverdale, East Gloucester, and West Gloucester.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
49.8 median age · 28.0% married households · #2 oldest in Massachusetts
Located in
Essex County, Massachusetts
Newburyport is a small coastal, scenic, and historic city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 35 miles northeast of Boston. The population was 17,416 at the 2010 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mooring, winter storage and maintenance of recreational boats, motor and sail, still contribute a large part of the city’s income. A Coast Guard station oversees boating activity, especially in the swift tidal currents of the Merrimack River.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
45.3 median age · 30.0% married households · #3 oldest in Massachusetts
Located in
Essex County, Massachusetts
Peabody is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2010 census, the population was 51,251, and in 2014 the estimated population was 52,376. Peabody is located in the North Shore region of Massachusetts.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
43.3 median age · 26.0% married households · #7 oldest in Massachusetts
Located in
Worcester County, Massachusetts
Leominster is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest city in Worcester County, with a population of 40,759 at the 2010 census. Leominster is located north of Worcester and west of Boston. Both Route 2 and Route 12 pass through Leominster. Interstate 190, Route 13, and Route 117 all have starting/ending points in Leominster. Leominster is bounded by Fitchburg and Lunenburg to the north, Lancaster to the east, Sterling and Princeton to the south, and Westminster to the west.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
42.4 median age · 24.0% married households · #8 oldest in Massachusetts
Located in
Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. The population was 44,737 at the 2010 census. Although the population has declined in recent decades, Pittsfield remains the third largest municipality in western Massachusetts, behind only Springfield and Chicopee.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
38.9 median age · 28.0% married households · #21 oldest in Massachusetts
Located in
Bristol County, Massachusetts
Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located approximately 40 miles south of Boston, 18 miles east of Providence, 10 miles north of Fall River, 20 miles north of New Bedford, and 25 miles west of Plymouth. It is the seat of Bristol County. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount Hope Bay, 10 miles to the south. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 55,874. Thomas Hoye Jr. is the current mayor of Taunton, and has held the position since 2012.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
43.6 median age · 24.0% married households · #6 oldest in Massachusetts
Located in
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Melrose is a city located in the Greater Boston metropolitan area in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Its population as per the 2010 United States Census is 26,983. It is a suburb located approximately seven miles north of Boston and is situated in the center of the triangle created by Interstates 93, 95 and US Route 1.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
39.8 median age · 21.0% married households · #14 oldest in Massachusetts
Located in
Bristol County, Massachusetts
Attleboro is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It was once known as “The Jewelry Capital of the World” for its many jewelry manufacturers. According to the 2010 census, Attleboro had a population of 43,593 in 2010.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
39.9 median age · 30.0% married households · #13 oldest in Massachusetts
Located in
Hampden County, Massachusetts
Westfield is a city in Hampden County, in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, United States. Westfield was first settled in 1660. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 41,094 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Massachusetts’s statewide median.
On the map
Where the quiet settles in Massachusetts
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the boring cities in the Bay State
You would present the following case to your friends if you were argueing with them at a bar about the most boring place to live in Massachusetts. And that’s why we call it Saturday Night Science.
Because our data speaks more truth than feelings.
To figure out how boring a place is, we factored in things we generally think make people exciting, and then we figure out which cities have the least number of those exciting people.
We used the U.S. American Community Census data to gather the information presented here. Some of the things people tend to think of as making a city’s population boring include:
- % of Population Over 25 (higher is more boring)
- % of Married Household (higher is more boring)
- Average Age (higher is more boring)
- % of Households With Kids (higher is more boring)
- Population density (lower is more boring)
Then, our algorithm generates a ranking for each place in these categories. After crunching the numbers, all of the cities ranked from most boring to most exciting.
For this ranking, we used every Massachusetts city with at least 12,000 residents. This keeps us from prejudicing our rankings by including very small pockets of retired people.
Grab your rocker and hold on.
We updated this article for 2026, and it’s our eleventh time ranking the most boring cities in Massachusetts.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Most Boring Cities In Massachusetts For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Boring Score | Population | Average Age | % Married | % Kids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gardner | 7.50 | 21,148 | 43.7 | 28.0% | 28.4% |
| 2 | Gloucester | 8.60 | 30,075 | 50.2 | 29.0% | 20.5% |
| 3 | Newburyport | 10.90 | 18,652 | 49.8 | 28.0% | 24.1% |
| 4 | Peabody | 11.70 | 54,695 | 45.3 | 30.0% | 24.9% |
| 5 | Leominster | 12.30 | 43,909 | 43.3 | 26.0% | 25.5% |
| 6 | Pittsfield | 12.50 | 43,457 | 42.4 | 24.0% | 22.5% |
| 7 | Taunton | 12.50 | 60,433 | 38.9 | 28.0% | 32.9% |
| 8 | Melrose | 13.30 | 29,650 | 43.6 | 24.0% | 29.9% |
| 9 | Attleboro | 13.60 | 46,762 | 39.8 | 21.0% | 31.4% |
| 10 | Westfield | 13.70 | 40,378 | 39.9 | 30.0% | 25.8% |
| 11 | Haverhill | 13.70 | 67,698 | 39.4 | 26.0% | 30.7% |
| 12 | North Adams | 14.40 | 12,606 | 44.1 | 23.0% | 18.3% |
| 13 | Woburn | 15.30 | 41,939 | 39.3 | 28.0% | 26.6% |
| 14 | Marlborough | 16.00 | 41,647 | 37.5 | 19.0% | 31.9% |
| 15 | Chicopee | 16.40 | 55,295 | 41.9 | 22.0% | 24.3% |
| 16 | Fall River | 18.00 | 94,082 | 39.3 | 16.0% | 26.3% |
| 17 | Northampton | 18.20 | 30,962 | 41.3 | 15.0% | 21.9% |
| 18 | Holyoke | 18.40 | 37,813 | 40.0 | 15.0% | 26.6% |
| 19 | Beverly | 18.60 | 42,665 | 39.0 | 27.0% | 26.2% |
| 20 | Newton | 19.00 | 89,044 | 42.1 | 14.0% | 33.0% |
| 21 | Fitchburg | 20.00 | 41,798 | 36.3 | 17.0% | 30.3% |
| 22 | Salem | 20.60 | 44,795 | 39.3 | 17.0% | 20.5% |
| 23 | New Bedford | 21.00 | 100,998 | 37.0 | 17.0% | 30.9% |
| 24 | Quincy | 21.00 | 102,114 | 38.6 | 15.0% | 21.0% |
| 25 | Revere | 21.90 | 60,012 | 39.2 | 13.0% | 28.5% |
| 26 | Brockton | 22.00 | 105,386 | 36.7 | 14.0% | 38.9% |
| 27 | Medford | 24.20 | 59,354 | 35.9 | 15.0% | 20.4% |
| 28 | Lynn | 24.40 | 101,709 | 36.5 | 14.0% | 36.5% |
| 29 | Everett | 25.00 | 50,045 | 35.2 | 12.0% | 36.3% |
| 30 | Malden | 25.20 | 65,906 | 35.8 | 11.0% | 29.4% |
| 31 | Lowell | 27.00 | 118,368 | 35.6 | 12.0% | 32.1% |
| 32 | Springfield | 27.00 | 154,749 | 33.7 | 12.0% | 33.5% |
| 33 | Chelsea | 28.30 | 39,908 | 34.4 | 5.0% | 35.4% |
| 34 | Worcester | 28.30 | 207,055 | 33.9 | 13.0% | 29.1% |
| 35 | Waltham | 28.70 | 64,902 | 34.4 | 15.0% | 20.3% |
| 36 | Lawrence | 29.70 | 88,736 | 32.6 | 6.0% | 37.5% |
| 37 | Somerville | 30.90 | 81,036 | 31.9 | 8.0% | 14.1% |
| 38 | Boston | 33.10 | 666,442 | 33.3 | 8.0% | 19.8% |
| 39 | Cambridge | 37.10 | 118,796 | 30.4 | 6.0% | 17.7% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 39 cities with more than 12,000 residents.
Summary
There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep
On a ranking like this, there are usually no winners, but since Massachusetts isn’t necessarily the most boring state in the United States, the cities on this ranking can at least take solace that there are, in fact, more boring cities in the country.
The most boring cities in Massachusetts are Gardner, Gloucester, Newburyport, Peabody, Leominster, Pittsfield, Taunton, Melrose, Attleboro, and Westfield.
If you’re also curious enough, here are the most exciting places in Massachusetts, according to science.
