Chelsea vs Nahant Schools
How the two districts, about 5 miles apart, compare on test scores, high school results, classrooms, spending and housing.
The short answer
- Overall: Neck and neck: Chelsea ranks #280 and Nahant #275 of 328 Massachusetts districts.
- MCAS 2026: Nahant students score higher: ELA 44% vs 17%, Math 44% vs 21% met expectations.
- High school: Nahant has no high school in our rankings (its students may attend a regional high school), so only Chelsea has SAT and graduation figures (SAT average 1041).
- Spending: Similar: $24,407 per student in Chelsea and $22,912 in Nahant.
- Homes: Homes cost more in Nahant: single-family homes average $1.07M vs $367K. The average tax bill is $4,214 in Chelsea and $9,654 in Nahant.
- Class size: Smaller in Nahant: 16.1 students on average vs 20.1.
MCAS results, 2026
Share of students meeting or exceeding expectations, all tested grades combined. The districts serve different grades (Chelsea: grades 3–10; Nahant: grades 3–6), so the state figure isn't shown.
| Year | Chelsea | Nahant |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 17% | 44% |
| 2025 | 18% | — |
| 2024 | 16% | — |
| 2023 | 18% | — |
| 2022 | 19% | 50% |
| 2021 | 24% | 60% |
| Year | Chelsea | Nahant |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 21% | 44% |
| 2025 | 20% | — |
| 2024 | 19% | — |
| 2023 | 17% | — |
| 2022 | 18% | 57% |
| 2021 | 12% | 40% |
No test in 2020. Statewide 10th-grade results dropped after 2024, when passing the MCAS stopped being a graduation requirement.
High school results
Averages of each district's ranked high schools. "MA avg" is the average of all districts with high school data.
Classrooms, teachers & spending
Spending is total per-pupil expenditure from all sources in FY2024. Class size is the average across all classes in the district.
Students
| Chelsea | Nahant | |
|---|---|---|
| Students in classes | 6,200 | 169 |
| English learners | 47.7% | 0% |
| Students with disabilities | 19.3% | 23.7% |
| White | 4.9% | 84% |
| Asian | 0.4% | 1.1% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 89.9% | 9.1% |
| Black/African American | 4.3% | 1.1% |
| Multi-race | 0.4% | 4.6% |
Homes & taxes
What could you afford in either town?
FY2026 averages for single-family homes from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue; for a district with several towns, the comparison uses the average of its towns. Assessed values usually run below recent sale prices.