The story of this market
The typical home in Worcester County, Massachusetts sells for about $508,000, or $300 per square foot.
Prices are up +2.7% from a year ago, so sellers still have some momentum. Homes take about 35 days to sell. Over the long run, values in this county have grown 167% since 2000. Last year 124 of 167 neighborhoods saw prices rise, so the story isn't the same street to street. HUD's fair market rent for a two-bedroom is $2,100 a month.
FEMA's National Risk Index rates overall hazard risk here as Very Low.
Price climate
Every year of price change, 2000–2025
+3.2%
2025
Each stripe is one year's median price change across the area's census tracts (FHFA repeat-sales index). Deep blue is a strong gain year, red a falling year. Best: 2000 (+15.9%). Worst: 2009 (-7.5%). Hover to read a year.
Monthly price momentum
Home values since 2015
+2.5%
MA · past 12 months
Freddie Mac House Price Index, single-family homes, monthly through 2026-08. Each line starts at 100 in January 2015, so a reading of 180 means prices are up 80% since then.
Neighborhood price trend
Long-run price trend, 2000–2025
+3.2%
2025 change
FHFA repeat-sales index, median of 167 census tracts in this county (2000 = 100). Bars are each year's median change.
Natural hazard exposure
The area's risk shape
18
Very Low
FEMA National Risk Index. Each spoke is a hazard ranked nationally, where 100 is the most exposed. Expected annual loss: $162,813,436.
Mortgage activity
Home lending in this county
78.2%
2018 approval rate
| Year | Applications | Loans made | Approval | Investor share | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 37718 | 21034 | 78.2% | 4.9% | $275,000 |
CFPB Home Mortgage Disclosure Act records: every mortgage application reported by lenders for homes in this county. Approval rate is approved ÷ decided (withdrawn and incomplete files excluded). Investor share and home value are the median census tract.
Worcester County, Massachusetts
Worcester County's housing market remains competitive, characterized by tight inventory, modest price growth to a median of $508,000, and a median sale-to-list ratio hovering slightly above 101%. Buyers seeking relative affordability compared to greater Boston continue to fuel consistent demand along the I-495 and commuter rail corridors, keeping average days on market tight at 35 days.
No ARED distress-ledger coverage for this county yet — the foreclosure ingest rotates the national county directory, and filings appear here once the county's posted notices are read. Key-figure check: no independent anchor retained yet — first-researched cycles establish the anchor baseline this pass.
Select a city to expand its ZIP intel reports beneath · 59 cities · 77 ZIP reports
Median prices moved up 0.2% year over year.
Homes spend a median of 38 days on market with 0.3 months of supply — a fast-moving market.
1% of listings have cut prices · homes sell at 45.58% of asking — demand is holding steady.
no recorded foreclosure-ledger notices (0.0 per 10,000 residents) · unemployment 3.7% · poverty 10.3% — a stable, low-distress profile.
ACS 2024 5-year estimates. Aggregate published statistics for this county — never individual records, and never an attribute of any individual property or resident.
Owned and leased federal assets with active or excess status, per the General Services Administration's Real Estate Across the United States inventory (read 2026-09-25). A federal footprint read on this county — not a market valuation, and never an attribute of any individual property or tenant.
Deterministic aggregate of 75 researched ZIP reports of 77 — sales_count-weighted (population fallback); per point, children lacking the value or its weight are excluded. Tax rates, sentiment and context notes are tier-native and never roll.
Worcester County, Massachusetts — researched county-level history with a deterministic 1 / 3 / 5-year projection
Solid: researched ten-year history · dotted: 1 / 3 / 5-year projection extended from the historical 8.0%/yr trend — a deterministic estimate, not a published forecast or guarantee.
Each property observation weighs one in its ZIP's deterministic roll-up — property-level records (taxes, scores, permits) never roll individually. Latest property research run Oct 13, 2026.
researched Sep 16
researched Sep 16
researched Sep 16
researched Sep 20
researched Sep 16
researched Sep 16
researched Sep 17
researched Sep 18
researched Sep 17
researched Sep 18
| 01005 | Barre | $420,864 | $204 | +2.7% | 65 | — | — | 2.4 | 2,709 | $1,591 | researched Sep 16 |
| 01037 | Hardwick | $467,660 | $301 | +1.3% | 28 | 102.5% | 5.5% | 2.4 | 2,709 | $2,100 | researched Sep 16 |
| 01068 | — | $400,000 | $235 | -14% | 38 | 96.6% | — | — | 5 | $1,174 | researched Sep 16 |
| 01083 | Warren | $399,900 | $240 | +4.6% | 40 | 100% | — | 2 | 10 | $1,041 | researched Sep 20 |
| 01092 | Warren | $360,000 | $240 | +14.3% | 40 | — | — | — | 47 | $844 | researched Sep 16 |
| 01331 | Athol | $439,076 | $294 | +0.9% | 28 | 102.5% | 5.5% | 2.4 | 2,709 | $1,160 | researched Sep 16 |
| 01366 | Petersham | $535,000 | $295 | +56.2% | 6 | 100% | — | 2.4 | 13 | $1,679 | researched Sep 17 |
| 01368 | Royalston | $750,000 | $286 | +56.2% | 146 | 100% | — | — | 11 | $2,300 | researched Sep 18 |
| 01420 | Fitchburg | $425,000 | $254 | +1.1% | 29 | — | — | — | 93 | $1,222 | researched Sep 17 |
| 01430 | Ashburnham | $387,000 | $232 | +0.7% | 43 | 100% | 19.4% | 1.6 | 62 | $1,580 | researched Sep 18 |
Figures are each ZIP report's own latest research — the county roll-up aggregates them sales_count-weighted (population fallback); ZIPs cycle quarterly.
Violent crime rates in Worcester County stand near 436 per 100,000 residents, with incidents heavily concentrated in dense urban cores like Worcester and Fitchburg while suburban and rural towns consistently record rates far below regional and national benchmarks.
The county features high-performing suburban municipal districts such as Shrewsbury, Westborough, and Algonquin Regional, alongside urban core districts including Worcester Public Schools that offer specialized vocational and magnet options amid broader socio-economic challenges.
Environmental hazard risks are generally low to moderate across the county, primarily characterized by inland localized stormwater flooding along the Blackstone and Nashua rivers, with standard New England winter wind and freeze exposure and typical property insurance postures.
Economic expansion is led by biotechnology, medical sciences, higher education, and regional logistics, anchored by the UMass Chan Medical School ecosystem, Polar Park-driven development, and expanded commuter rail infrastructure.
Massachusetts operates under Proposition 2 1/2, capping annual municipal levy growth at 2.5% plus new growth; properties are assessed at 100% fair market value by local town/city assessors without separate county-level taxing authorities.
Worcester County's economic base is powered by healthcare, higher education, life sciences manufacturing, and advanced engineering, bolstered by major institutional anchors such as UMass Memorial Health, Hanover Insurance, and AbbVie.
Major arterial highways including the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90), I-290, I-495, I-190, and Route 146 intersect the county, while the MBTA Commuter Rail provides essential transit links into Greater Boston.
Massachusetts abolished county-level government administration in Worcester County; property assessments are handled independently by municipal Boards of Assessors in each of the 60 cities and towns under Massachusetts Department of Revenue oversight.
Parcels are subject to municipal governance and regional school districts across smaller towns, alongside special utility or water districts, without separate county-wide special taxing overlay authorities.
Property insurance conditions remain stable relative to coastal New England, with standard inland hazard risk profiles and manageable premium inflation focused primarily on replacement cost index adjustments.
- Great Wolf Lodge | New England4.29.5 mi
- Kimball Farm Westford4.622.5 mi
- Apex Entertainment Marlborough4.414.7 mi
- Dave & Buster's Natick4.325.4 mi
- Launch Entertainment Park Framingham4.520.6 mi
- Wachusett Mountain Ski Area4.56.8 mi
- Apex Entertainment Marlborough4.414.7 mi
- Level99 Natick4.725.4 mi
- DCU Center4.310.5 mi
- AMC Framingham 164.224.9 mi
- Great Wolf Lodge | New England4.29.5 mi
- Apex Entertainment Marlborough4.414.7 mi
- New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill4.77.4 mi
- Blackstone Valley 14 Cinema de Lux4.415 mi
- Davis Farmland4.76.9 mi
- New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill4.77.4 mi
- Old Sturbridge Village4.724.2 mi
- Discovery Museum4.720.8 mi
- EcoTarium4.511.1 mi
- deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum4.727.8 mi
- New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill4.77.4 mi
- Wachusett Mountain State Reservation4.75.8 mi
- Green Hill Park4.69.6 mi
- Lake Williams Boardwalk4.615.7 mi
- Rogers Field4.515.7 mi
- Fore Kicks II Indoor & Outdoor Sports Complex4.615.1 mi
- Shaker Hills Country Club4.118.2 mi
- Cyprian Keyes Golf Club4.38.6 mi
- Stow Acres Country Club3.216.8 mi
- Red Tail Golf Club415.5 mi
- Solomon Pond Mall4.313 mi
- Auburn Mall3.914.4 mi
- Burlington413.9 mi
- The Shops at Blackstone Valley4.415 mi
- Worcester Regional Airport4.69.9 mi
Theme parks, venues, golf, airports, museums, water and shopping across the area from Google Maps, ranked by popularity within the radius shown.
The amenity base that shapes daily life and property demand in this county — what residents actually live with, and what the pipeline is adding.
A major central Massachusetts recreational anchor providing four-season outdoor amenities, including alpine skiing, hiking trails, and panoramic summit views across the region.
Home venue of the Worcester Red Sox (WooSox) that anchors Worcester's Canal District revitalization with baseball, concerts, and year-round civic events.
Renowned cultural destination housing over 38,000 works spanning antiquity to contemporary art, including Roman mosaics and a celebrated European collection.
A premier regional water destination famous for national collegiate rowing regattas, boating, swimming beaches, and public sailing clubs.
An indoor-outdoor science, nature, and technology museum featuring interactive exhibits, a digital planetarium, and walking trails that serve families across the county.
Data retrieved from U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, Census Reporter, and Data USA for Worcester County, MA (FIPS 25027).
applies when — Parcels classified as forest production land under M.G.L. c. 61
Imposes a conveyance tax upon sale for non-forest use and potential roll-back taxes if disqualified; grants the municipality a right of first refusal upon conversion to residential, industrial, or commercial use.
Governed by M.G.L. Chapter 61.
Ad valorem tax calculated as (Municipal Budget / Total Assessed Value of all taxable property) = Tax Rate per $1,000 of assessed value. Assessments must be at 100% of full and fair cash (market) value.
Governed by M.G.L. Chapter 59; assessed annually by local boards of assessors.
Governance registry — every jurisdiction re-researches on a rolling 90-day cycle. Property reports compose these inherited burdens into a per-parcel ledger with conditional determinations. Informational only — not legal advice.