Census-designated place · Essex County, Massachusetts

Rowley, Massachusetts

Rowley is a census-designated place in Essex County, Massachusetts, part of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area. It has 1,708 residents. Rowley, Massachusetts has a quality-of-life score of 87 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,986 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Massachusetts it ranks #108 of 225 cities and towns. It ranks best on unemployment rate (low), traffic deaths (low) and mental health providers (high). It ranks worst on child care cost burden (high), time spent in the emergency room (high) and income inequality (Gini index) (high).

87Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,986 of 15,651 cities and towns
Massachusetts: #108 of 225 in MA
Population: 1,708 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 996.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 2558370

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety82#2,773/15,637
Economy80#3,205/15,631
Housing20#11,923/14,977
Health91#1,395/15,609
Healthcare90#1,526/15,650
Environment71#4,470/15,453
Education87#1,999/15,649
Infrastructure55#7,015/15,650
Community86#2,172/15,651
Leisure & amenities64#5,589/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Rowley, Massachusetts ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Essex County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Unemployment rate · low0.0%
98/100Massachusetts 4.5%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Traffic deaths · low4.3 /100k
98/100Massachusetts 5.4 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataEssex County value
Mental health providers · high702 /100k
97/100Massachusetts 787 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEssex County value
Poor or fair health · low10.9%
96/100Massachusetts 15.2%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Flu vaccinations · high56.0%
96/100Massachusetts 55.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEssex County value
Food insecurity · low7.1%
96/100Massachusetts 13.0%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Child care cost burden · high42.5%
4/100Massachusetts 39.7%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEssex County value
Time spent in the emergency room · high226 min
10/100Massachusetts 216 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesEssex County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.510
12/100Massachusetts 0.489United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Home price to income ratio · high5.6×
13/100Massachusetts 5.4×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
High ozone days · high5 days
15/100Massachusetts 2 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyEssex County value
Drought exposure · high77%
15/100Massachusetts 44%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAEssex County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
45.3% (2015-2019) → 57.3% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$79,554 (2015-2019) → $109,622 (2020-2024)
+38%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Unemployment rateImproving
7.1% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−7.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
80.8% (2015-2019) → 87.6% (2020-2024)
+6.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Income inequality (Gini index)Worsening
0.383 (2015-2019) → 0.510 (2020-2024)
+33%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483
Average commute timeImproving
34.6 min (2015-2019) → 24.7 min (2020-2024)
−29%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Rowley, Massachusetts improved on 0 of 7 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 6 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined1

Inequality+0.1270.383 → 0.510

All 7 measures

Change of every measure of Rowley, Massachusetts between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	34.6 min2015-2019	24.7 min2020-2024	−9.9 min	Within the margin of error	98%
Bachelor's degree or higher	45.3%2015-2019	57.3%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	94%
Broadband subscriptions	80.8%2015-2019	87.6%2020-2024	+6.8 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Effective property tax rate	1.41%2015-2019	1.23%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	54%
High school diploma or higher	100.0%2015-2019	100.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3832015-2019	0.5102020-2024	+0.127	Declined	2%
Rent as share of income	29.4%2015-2019	29.4%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	55%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15075 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Rowley, Massachusetts five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Rowley, Massachusetts in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

No place that looked like Rowley, Massachusetts five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

For comparison, Rowley, Massachusetts itself moved −4.9 points in standing on average over the same 7 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,708 residents (±454)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

701 households (±149)

Rowley, Massachusetts
Massachusetts share

Under $25k8.8%†62
$25k–50k12%†83
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

701 households (±149)

Rowley, Massachusetts
Massachusetts share

Own79%551
Rent21%†150

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,032 workers (±421)

Rowley, Massachusetts
Massachusetts share

Drive alone87%†902
Carpool1.7%†18
Public transit

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Essex County, the county holding most of Rowley's residents.

Essex County has 19,988 employer establishments, 244 for every 10,000 residents (0.98× the US rate of 248; 0.94× Massachusetts's), with 287,960 paid employees at an average annual pay of $67,758. The Census Bureau also counts 84,040 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 19,988; 84,040 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 244; US 248 · Massachusetts 260
Paid employees: 287,960
Average annual pay: $67,758; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Essex County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	1,596	19.5	1.06×About typical	25,636	$29,565	373
Specialty trade contractors	1,573	19.2	1.24×About typical	10,172	$85,137	5,457
Ambulatory health care services	1,379	16.9	0.81×About typical	20,027	$73,287	3,480
Services to buildings and dwellings	902	11	1.64×More than typical	5,669	$47,400	3,728
Construction of buildings	842	10.3	1.36×More than typical	3,307	$78,115	2,251
Full-service restaurants	696	8.5	1.11×About typical	14,003	$32,568	172
Lessors of real estate	683	8.4	0.68×Fewer than typical	2,258	$68,868	7,096
Building equipment contractors	638	7.8	1.30×More than typical	4,627	$84,368	1,195
Limited-service restaurants	630	7.7	0.96×About typical	8,371	$26,580	132
Personal care services	616	7.5	1.58×More than typical	2,832	$32,437	3,077
Landscaping services	611	7.5	2.13×More than typical	1,956	$70,851	922
Automotive repair and maintenance	450	5.5	1.09×About typical	1,964	$52,384	696

Rank places for an industry Open Essex County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 817,647 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Rowley, Massachusetts: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

566.3FY2017
18KFY2018
5KFY2019
53.2KFY2020
1.5KFY2021
385.8FY2022
808.3FY2024
0FY2025

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Rowley, Massachusetts, so they do not add up across cities.

Rowley, Massachusetts's figures are part of those of Essex County, MA ($5.2B in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Rowley is mostly in Essex County.

See federal money in Essex County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Rowley, Massachusetts is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Essex County85100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH89

Other cities and towns in Essex County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2558370

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends