Fall River vs Swansea Schools
How the two districts, about 7 miles apart, compare on test scores, high school results, classrooms, spending and housing.
The short answer
- Overall: Swansea ranks higher, #126 to Fall River's #271 of 328 Massachusetts districts.
- MCAS 2026: Swansea students score higher: ELA 40% vs 20%, Math 45% vs 18% met expectations. Statewide: 40% and 41%.
- SAT: Swansea averages 145 points higher (1119 vs 974).
- Spending: Fall River spends $5,659 more per student ($23,626 vs $17,967).
- Homes: Homes cost more in Swansea: single-family homes average $495K vs $405K. The average tax bill is $4,651 in Fall River and $5,623 in Swansea.
MCAS results, 2026
Share of students meeting or exceeding expectations, all tested grades combined. Both districts test grades 3–10; "State" is the statewide figure for the same grades.
| Year | Fall River | Swansea | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 20% | 40% | 40% |
| 2025 | 21% | 43% | 42% |
| 2024 | 21% | 39% | 42% |
| 2023 | 24% | 43% | 44% |
| 2022 | 23% | 42% | 43% |
| 2021 | 28% | 54% | 48% |
| Year | Fall River | Swansea | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 18% | 45% | 41% |
| 2025 | 18% | 43% | 41% |
| 2024 | 19% | 46% | 42% |
| 2023 | 20% | 46% | 42% |
| 2022 | 20% | 44% | 40% |
| 2021 | 17% | 39% | 35% |
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
| Fall River | Swansea | |
|---|---|---|
| Students in classes | 11,790 | 2,021 |
| English learners | 28% | 1% |
| Students with disabilities | 25.2% | 18.9% |
| White | 38.3% | 90.2% |
| Asian | 2.5% | 1.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 34% | 3.1% |
| Black/African American | 17% | 1.9% |
| Multi-race | 7.9% | 2.7% |
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.