schoolsbycounty

State district guide

Massachusetts public school districts

Compare district systems across Massachusetts by enrollment scale, school count, county context, generated guide coverage, and the parent checks that matter before choosing where to live.

View county rankingsFind a school

Direct answer for parents

What this district ranking can and cannot tell you

If you are searching for the best school districts in Massachusetts, start with the largest and most data-rich district systems below, then verify the specific school assigned to each address. SchoolsByCounty orders districts by reported enrollment and school count because those fields are consistent in NCES. It does not convert district size into a quality rating.

Start with scale

Boston

46,001 reported students

Check county context

Barnstable County

85/100 county score

Verify locally

Address fit

Attendance boundaries and transfers are not in NCES

District table

Largest public school districts in Massachusetts

The first 60 rows show the largest district systems by reported enrollment. Open district guides where available, or use the county profile when a detailed district page is not generated yet.

399 districts in state file

Massachusetts public school districts ranked by reported enrollment.
RankDistrictStudents
1
Boston

LEA ID 2502790

Suffolk County109 schools
46,001
2
Worcester

LEA ID 2513230

Worcester County46 schools
24,318
3
Springfield

LEA ID 2511130

Hampden County66 schools
23,721
4
Lynn

LEA ID 2507110

Essex County27 schools
15,433
5
Brockton

LEA ID 2503090

Plymouth County24 schools
14,906
6
Lowell

LEA ID 2507020

Middlesex County27 schools
14,130
7
Lawrence

LEA ID 2506660

Essex County26 schools
12,867
8
New Bedford

LEA ID 2508430

Bristol County25 schools
12,522
9
Newton

LEA ID 2508610

Middlesex County22 schools
11,882
10
Fall River

LEA ID 2504830

Bristol County17 schools
10,447
11
Quincy

LEA ID 2509870

Norfolk County19 schools
9,649
12
Framingham

LEA ID 2504980

Middlesex County14 schools
9,274
13
Taunton

LEA ID 2511520

Bristol County12 schools
7,905
14
Haverhill

LEA ID 2505970

Essex County17 schools
7,775
15
Revere

LEA ID 2510050

Suffolk County11 schools
7,298
16
Everett

LEA ID 2504770

Middlesex County10 schools
7,285
17
Plymouth

LEA ID 2509720

Plymouth County13 schools
7,119
18
Brookline

LEA ID 2503150

Norfolk County13 schools
7,060
19
Lexington

LEA ID 2506840

Middlesex County10 schools
6,845
20
Wachusett

LEA ID 2511880

Worcester County13 schools
6,739
21
Chicopee

LEA ID 2503660

Hampden County15 schools
6,710
22
Cambridge

LEA ID 2503270

Middlesex County17 schools
6,627
23
Methuen

LEA ID 2507740

Essex County5 schools
6,440
24
Malden

LEA ID 2507170

Middlesex County7 schools
6,308
25
Chelsea

LEA ID 2503540

Suffolk County11 schools
6,153
26
Leominster

LEA ID 2506780

Worcester County12 schools
6,000
27
Arlington

LEA ID 2501980

Middlesex County11 schools
5,987
28
Attleboro

LEA ID 2502190

Bristol County12 schools
5,926
29
Shrewsbury

LEA ID 2510770

Worcester County9 schools
5,892
30
Peabody

LEA ID 2509360

Essex County11 schools
5,875
31
Waltham

LEA ID 2512000

Middlesex County10 schools
5,643
32
Weymouth

LEA ID 2512840

Norfolk County11 schools
5,599
33
Andover

LEA ID 2501950

Essex County10 schools
5,526
34
Needham

LEA ID 2508370

Norfolk County8 schools
5,525
35
Bridgewater-Raynham

LEA ID 2503030

Plymouth County8 schools
5,482
36
Natick

LEA ID 2508340

Middlesex County8 schools
5,346
37
Braintree

LEA ID 2502940

Norfolk County10 schools
5,305
38
Fitchburg

LEA ID 2504890

Worcester County8 schools
5,167
39
Acton-Boxborough

LEA ID 2501710

Middlesex County9 schools
5,133
40
Chelmsford

LEA ID 2503510

Middlesex County8 schools
5,055
41
Holyoke

LEA ID 2506270

Hampden County12 schools
4,943
42
Pittsfield

LEA ID 2509630

Berkshire County15 schools
4,909
43
Barnstable

LEA ID 2502310

Barnstable County9 schools
4,838
44
Westfield

LEA ID 2512630

Hampden County12 schools
4,836
45
Billerica

LEA ID 2502670

Middlesex County8 schools
4,822
46
Somerville

LEA ID 2510890

Middlesex County11 schools
4,815
47
Marlborough

LEA ID 2507320

Middlesex County7 schools
4,765
48
Franklin

LEA ID 2505010

Norfolk County10 schools
4,711
49
Westford

LEA ID 2512660

Middlesex County9 schools
4,710
50
Beverly

LEA ID 2502640

Essex County8 schools
4,575
51
Milford

LEA ID 2507860

Worcester County6 schools
4,483
52
North Andover

LEA ID 2508700

Essex County8 schools
4,450
53
Belmont

LEA ID 2502490

Middlesex County6 schools
4,378
54
Winchester

LEA ID 2513110

Middlesex County7 schools
4,333
55
Milton

LEA ID 2507980

Norfolk County6 schools
4,321
56
Woburn

LEA ID 2513200

Middlesex County10 schools
4,276
57
Medford

LEA ID 2507560

Middlesex County8 schools
4,166
58
Hopkinton

LEA ID 2506330

Middlesex County6 schools
4,163
59
Wellesley

LEA ID 2512270

Norfolk County10 schools
4,158
60
North Attleborough

LEA ID 2508730

Bristol County8 schools
3,916

— = enrollment not reported in the district record. District rows are informational and must be paired with local assignment tools before a housing decision.

Methodology

How to use district rankings without overreading them

District-level data is useful because it shows the operating system around a public school search: how many schools exist, which county record anchors the district, how much enrollment is reported, and whether a detailed district guide is available. It is not enough to decide where a student should enroll.

Ranking basis

Rows are ordered by reported enrollment, then school count. The method favors broad, data-rich systems because those are the districts parents most often need to research before relocation.

County context

Each district is attached to a primary county record when available. County school scores are context signals, not district ratings, and nearby counties can still matter for commute and housing decisions.

Grade pathway

Elementary, middle, and high school counts help parents spot whether a district looks like a full K-12 pathway or a narrower operating unit. Feeder patterns still require local verification.

Address verification

The final decision happens at the address level. Confirm attendance zones, open-enrollment rules, magnet admissions, charter lotteries, and transfer windows with official district sources.

County context

Districts anchored in higher-scoring county contexts

These rows pair district records with the county-level SchoolsByCounty score. Treat this as a shortlist for deeper research, not a district quality ranking.

85

Students
4,838
Schools
9
Open district guide

85

Students
2,967
Schools
7

Dennis-Yarmouth

Barnstable County

85

Students
2,857
Schools
6

85

Students
2,142
Schools
3

Monomoy Regional School District

Barnstable County

85

Students
1,769
Schools
4

85

Students
1,554
Schools
4

Parent checklist before relying on a district ranking

Use this page to narrow the field, then answer these local questions before treating any district as a fit for a specific home.

Which school does this address actually feed into?

Use the district address lookup and confirm edge cases near attendance-zone borders.

What happens at transition grades?

A strong elementary fit can split into several middle or high school paths.

Are choice programs realistic for this student?

Magnet, charter, virtual, and transfer options can involve lotteries, applications, or deadlines.

Is the county context aligned with housing tradeoffs?

Pair school research with taxes, commute, home prices, and safety before choosing where to live.

Frequently Asked Questions About Massachusetts School Districts

What are the best school districts in Massachusetts?
Boston, Worcester, Springfield are the largest Massachusetts district systems by reported enrollment in the NCES file. SchoolsByCounty does not call them the best districts; use this page to find data-rich district systems, then verify assigned schools, program rules, and local fit.
How are Massachusetts districts ranked here?
Districts are ordered by reported student enrollment, then school count, using NCES public school district records. This is a research-priority ranking, not a quality rating.
Why do only 79 Massachusetts districts have district guide links?
SchoolsByCounty statically generates detailed district guides for the largest district systems nationally so the pages stay fast and substantive. Districts without guide links remain represented through county and state context pages.
Do these district pages show attendance boundaries?
No. Attendance zones, transfer rules, magnet eligibility, charter admission, transportation, and program availability must be verified with official district or local assignment tools before choosing a home.
Does a large district mean better schools?
No. Larger districts usually have more school options and more public data, but enrollment size is not a school-quality measure. Compare school-level records and official local sources before treating a district as a fit.
How many districts are included for Massachusetts?
This page includes 399 Massachusetts public school districts from the current NCES district file, alongside county context and generated district-guide availability where available.
By Evan Brooks, Data EditorPublished

Data Sources

Education data sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data and School District Finance Survey. School scores are derived composite metrics based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance signals.

Data is informational only. Coverage varies by county and reporting year. Not for use as the sole basis for educational decisions.

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