Somerville
1 high school and 7 elementary schools in our rankings · serves Somerville
Ranks #143 of 328 Massachusetts school districts — top 44%.
MCAS is the share of students meeting or exceeding expectations in 2026, grades 3–10 combined. Spending is total per-pupil expenditure in FY2024.
Somerville is a densely populated city located about 3 miles northwest of downtown Boston, directly across the Charles River from Cambridge. The Somerville Public Schools district serves the city's residents through a mix of elementary, middle, and high school programs, with Somerville High School serving as the district's flagship secondary school. The city has a diverse, largely urban character, combining older triple-decker neighborhoods with a growing number of commercial and residential developments along its transit corridors. Somerville is notable for its history as an early industrial center and, more recently, for its vibrant arts scene centered around Davis Square and the Union Square neighborhood.
How it compares
- Strongest area: SAT scores, in the top 24% of districts. Its high schools average 1175 on the SAT, vs 1113 for the average MA district.
- Area to watch: Graduation rate ranks in the bottom 19% of districts.
- Top school: Benjamin G Brown, #18 of 895 Massachusetts elementary schools.
- Trend: Chronic absence has fallen from 30.4% in 2022 to 19.3% 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 Somerville
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 (Somerville High). "MA avg" is the average of all Massachusetts districts with high school data.
Students & classrooms
46.6% female · 52.6% male · 0.7% 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 441 full-time-equivalent teachers.
Attendance
12 days absent per student (MA avg 11) · 5.8% missed 20% or more of school days
About Somerville
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 Somerville with nearby districts
Side by side: test scores, spending, class size, home values and taxes. Distance is between district centers. Compare with any district