Massachusetts public school district

Peabody

1 high school and 8 elementary schools in our rankings · serves Peabody

overall grade

Ranks #230 of 328 Massachusetts school districts.

Overall rank

#230

of 328 districts

MCAS ELA

29%

State 40% in the same grades

MCAS Math

29%

State 41% in the same grades

Spending per student

$20,628

MA median $21,765

MCAS is the share of students meeting or exceeding expectations in 2026, grades 3–10 combined. Spending is total per-pupil expenditure in FY2024.

Peabody is a city in Essex County, located about 15 miles north of Boston along the North Shore. Its public school district serves the city's students and is anchored by Peabody Veterans Memorial High School. Peabody is known as the "Leather City," a nod to its long history in leather tanning and manufacturing, and it was incorporated as a city in 1868. The city has a mix of residential neighborhoods, commercial corridors, and proximity to the coastline and the Danvers and Salem area.

How it compares

What stands out

Best of its categories: SAT scores, in the bottom 33% of districts. Its high schools average 1088 on the SAT, vs 1113 for the average MA district.
Area to watch: Graduation rate ranks in the bottom 15% of districts.
Trend: Chronic absence has fallen from 33.3% in 2022 to 22.6% in 2025.

Where it stands among Massachusetts school districts

Bottom of MATop of MA

Overall

Below averagebottom 31% · #230

SAT

Below averagebottom 33% · #196

ELA MCAS

Below averagebottom 20% · #262

Math MCAS

Below averagebottom 22% · #256

AP results

Below averagebottom 32% · #191

Graduation

Below averagebottom 15% · #248

Attendance

Below averagebottom 29% · #235

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 Peabody

High schools · ranked among 335

Peabody Veterans Memorial High

Peabody

C+

#225 in MASAT 1088Graduation 86%

Elementary schools · ranked among 895

John E. McCarthy

Peabody

B-

#393 in MAELA 38%Math 42%

West Memorial

Peabody

B-

#421 in MAELA 42%Math 47%

John E Burke

Peabody

C+

#512 in MAELA 38%Math 43%

South Memorial

Peabody

C+

#558 in MAELA 39%Math 35%

Captain Samuel Brown

Peabody

#681 in MAELA 28%Math 26%

Center

Peabody

#682 in MAELA 25%Math 39%

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.

English Language Arts, grades 3–1029%in 2026 · state 40%

11 points below the state

Math, grades 3–1029%in 2026 · state 41%

12 points below the state

By grade, 2026 · the black tick marks the state

GradeELAMath

Grade 3

31%−12 vs state

27%−15 vs state

Grade 4

30%−7 vs state

34%−9 vs state

Grade 5

35%−3 vs state

38%−1 vs state

Grade 6

28%−12 vs state

29%−14 vs state

Grade 7

28%−12 vs state

27%−10 vs state

Grade 8

23%−19 vs state

25%−17 vs state

Grade 10

26%−19 vs state

22%−22 vs state

Science, 2026

Grade 5 science

33%−10 vs state

Grade 8 science

24%−15 vs state

High school biology

21%−17 vs state

High school results

Average SATWorse than average

This district

1088

MA avg

1113

AP exams scored 3+About average

This district

63.7%

MA avg

69.1%

Four-year graduation rateWorse than average

This district

85.7%

MA avg

92.4%

Averages of the district's ranked high schools (Peabody Veterans Memorial High). "MA avg" is the average of all Massachusetts districts with high school data.

Students & classrooms

Classrooms

Students in classes5,825

Average class size17.8MA avg 17.3

Who attends

White

58.5%

Hispanic/Latino

28.8%

Black/African American

6.4%

Multi-Race

3.3%

Asian

2.6%

American Indian/Alaska Native

0.3%

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

0.1%

49.3% female · 50.7% male · 0.1% nonbinary

Student needs

English learnersHigher than average

This district

16.8%

MA avg

8.5%

Students with disabilitiesAbout average

This district

18.6%

MA avg

20.2%

Spending & teachers

Spending per student$20.6Kin FY2024 · MA median $21.8K

$1,137 below the MA median

Teacher salary$92.8Kin 2023-24 · MA median $91.4K

$1,418 above the MA median

Teachers who stayedfrom last yearBetter than average

This district

90.2%

MA avg

84.7%

Principals who stayedfrom last yearAbout average

This district

81.8%

MA avg

82%

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 480 full-time-equivalent teachers.

Attendance

Attendance rateAbout average

This district

92.9%

MA avg

93.7%

Chronically absentmissed 10%+ of daysWorse than average

This district

22.6%

MA avg

16.9%

12.4 days absent per student (MA avg 11) · 4.9% missed 20% or more of school days

About Peabody

Essex County · North Shore & Merrimack Valley

Avg single-family home value$677KMA median $588K

Avg property tax bill$6,411MA median $6,814

Tax rate$9.50 per $1,000MA median $12.40

Income per person$40,500MA median $47,872

Local kids in public school88.2%

Free cash reserves4.8% of budget

Where school-age children in Peabody go to school · 2024-2025

Local public schools

77.8%

Private schools

11%

Vocational schools

6.4%

Charter schools

2.1%

Other public schools

Home school

0.8%

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 Peabody with nearby districts

Peabody vs Danvers#174B- · 3 mi Peabody vs Lynnfield#26A · 4 mi Peabody vs Lynn#297C- · 4 mi Peabody vs Salem#234C · 4 mi Peabody vs Saugus#207C+ · 5 mi Peabody vs Revere#217C+ · 8 mi

Side by side: test scores, spending, class size, home values and taxes. Distance is between district centers. Compare with any district