The book's checklist
- Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.3% above the U.S. average in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area.
- More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
- A safer neighborhood16 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 1.6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
- Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
- A hospital close byNashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
- Within reach of a big cityBoston is about 36 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.
A check means Shirley meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.
What kind of town
Shirley runs into the built-up area around Boston (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.
The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.
For a lifetime
Homes and money
- Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
- $427,600U.S.: $332,700
- Home prices since then
- Up 19%Middlesex County, 2022 to 2025
- Typical rent, with utilities
- $1,481 a monthU.S.: $1,413
- Typical household income
- $122,365U.S.: $80,734
- Homes owned by the people living in them
- 77%U.S.: 65%
- Typical property tax bill
- $5,156 a yearMassachusetts: $5,992
- Homes built before 1940
- 20%U.S.: 12%
- Homes built since 2010
- 9%U.S.: 11%
- Vacation and seasonal homes
- 2%U.S.: 3%
- Everyday prices
- 108.3U.S. average = 100 (the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area)
Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area, not Shirley alone. Check current listings before you budget.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.
The people
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 7,1892020: 7,233
- Median age
- 44.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
- Age 65 and older
- 20%U.S.: 17%
- Under 18
- 16%U.S.: 22%
- Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
- 37%U.S.: 36%
- Moved here from another county or state in the past year
- 7%U.S.: 6%
- College students
- 6%share of all residents
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Work
- Biggest lines of work
- Schools, health care and social services (27%); manufacturing (20%); professional and business services (17%)
- Unemployment rate
- 5%U.S.: 5%
- Average commute
- 40 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
- Work from home
- 21%U.S.: 15%
- Below the poverty line
- 10%U.S.: 12%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Health care
Nearest emergency room: Nashoba Valley Medical Center, Ayer, MA, about 3 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.
Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.
Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.
Schools
3 public schools in Shirley, run by Ayer Shirley School District and Francis W. Parker Charter Essential (District).
See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Massachusetts's school report card.
Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.
Internet
- Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
- 88%U.S.: 76%
- Homes with any internet subscription
- 92%U.S.: 91%
Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Weather
- January average low
- 16°F
- July average high
- 83°F
- Days 90°F or hotter
- 15 a year
- Nights at or below freezing
- 137 a year
- Rain and melted snow
- 47.2 inches a year
- Snow
- 58 inches a year
- Elevation
- 329 feet
Weather stations: Fitchburg Muni Ap (6 miles away) and E Milford (18 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.
Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.
Getting around
Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Nashoba Valley Medical Center, Nashua, Boston.
Middlesex County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).
For a day
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Shirley Center Historic District, Shirley Shaker Village and the Shirley Village Historic District.
National Park Service sites within about an hour:
- Minute Man National Historical Park15 miles
- Lowell National Historical Park16 miles
- Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site29 miles
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site31 miles
- Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site31 miles
Read about Shirley's history on Wikipedia.
Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.
Nearby
Straight-line miles.
Small towns
- Ayer, MA9,300 people, 3 miles
- Lunenburg, MA12,000 people, 4 miles
- Groton, MA11,500 people, 5 miles
- Harvard, MA7,000 people, 5 miles
- Lancaster, MA9,200 people, 6 miles
- Pepperell, MA11,800 people, 7 miles
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
- Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
- National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
- National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
- U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
- National Park Service, park unit boundaries
- USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas
Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.