Chelmsford
1 high school and 4 elementary schools in our rankings · serves Chelmsford
Ranks #83 of 328 Massachusetts school districts — top 26%.
MCAS is the share of students meeting or exceeding expectations in 2026, grades 3–10 combined. Spending is total per-pupil expenditure in FY2024.
Chelmsford is a suburban town in Middlesex County, located about 30 miles northwest of Boston. Its public school district serves the town through Chelmsford High School. The town has a mix of residential neighborhoods, commercial areas, and open space, and its history dates to its incorporation in 1655, with the Chelmsford Center Historic District reflecting its colonial-era roots. Average single-family assessed values and per capita income in Chelmsford are above the Massachusetts average, placing it among the comparatively affluent communities in the region.
How it compares
- Strongest area: Attendance, in the top 12% of districts. Students attend 95.4% of school days, vs 93.7% for the average MA district.
- Relative weak spot: Graduation rate ranks in the top 37% of districts, below its other categories.
- Top school: South Row, #122 of 895 Massachusetts elementary schools.
- Trend: Chronic absence has fallen from 16.4% in 2022 to 9% in 2025.
A district's overall rank is the average statewide percentile of its ranked schools, with a 10% discount for single-school districts. Category standings compare the average of each district's ranked schools and count only districts with data. How we rank
Schools in Chelmsford
We rank high schools that report SAT results and elementary schools with grade 3 MCAS results, so some of the district's schools (middle schools, for example) aren't listed. Elementary ELA and Math are 2024–2026 averages of grade 3 results.
MCAS results
Share of students meeting or exceeding expectations, compared with the state. Statewide 10th-grade results dropped after 2024, when passing the MCAS stopped being a graduation requirement. There was no test in 2020.
High school results
Averages of the district's ranked high schools (Chelmsford High). "MA avg" is the average of all Massachusetts districts with high school data.
Students & classrooms
48.6% female · 51.3% male · 0.1% nonbinary
Spending & teachers
Spending is total per-pupil expenditure from all sources. Dollar figures aren't adjusted for inflation. "MA median" is the middle district in each year; small districts can spend far more per student, so the median is a fairer yardstick than the average. Salary is the average across 379 full-time-equivalent teachers.
Attendance
8.2 days absent per student (MA avg 11) · 1.9% missed 20% or more of school days
About Chelmsford
What could you afford here? · All towns A–Z
Town figures are FY2026 averages for single-family homes from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Assessed values usually run below recent sale prices. "MA median" is the median of the state's 351 towns.
Compare Chelmsford with nearby districts
Side by side: test scores, spending, class size, home values and taxes. Distance is between district centers. Compare with any district