Massachusetts Tap Water Quality Report

329 cities analyzed • 6,578,714 people served

Updated March 2026 • Data from EWG & EPA SDWIS

329

Cities Analyzed

11.6

Avg Above Guidelines

6,578,714

Total Population Served

Best Water Quality

Williamstown (0 above guidelines)

Most Concerns

Hopedale (21 above guidelines)

Most Common Contaminants in Massachusetts

Contaminant	Found In	% of Cities
Manganese	295 of 329	90%
Nitrate carcinogen	265 of 329	81%
Chloroform carcinogen	257 of 329	78%
Bromodichloromethane carcinogen	248 of 329	75%
Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) carcinogen	243 of 329	74%
Dibromochloromethane carcinogen	242 of 329	74%
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) carcinogen	223 of 329	68%
Haloacetic acids (HAA5) carcinogen	222 of 329	67%
Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) carcinogen	222 of 329	67%
Perfluorohexanoic Acid (PFHxA)	217 of 329	66%

City-by-City Water Quality Rankings

Ranked by number of contaminants above EWG health guidelines (most to fewest).

#	City	Detected	Above Guidelines	Above Legal	People Served
1	Acton	43	21	2	20,890
2	Hudson	46	21	1	18,406
3	Westborough	41	21	0	18,272
4	Hopedale	40	21	2	6,025
5	Rockland	40	20	2	33,887
6	Bridgewater	39	20	2	26,563
7	Foxborough	34	20	2	16,924
8	Bellingham	39	20	1	15,390
9	Auburn	32	20	2	11,763
10	Rowley	34	20	1	6,325
11	West Newbury	36	20	0	2,895
12	Cambridge	32	19	1	105,162
13	Peabody	35	19	0	52,474
14	Billerica	35	19	1	40,243
15	Burlington	32	19	2	25,392
16	Walpole	39	19	0	23,989
17	Scituate	33	19	0	19,688
18	Westford	32	19	1	18,000
19	Concord	36	19	0	16,402
20	North Reading	34	19	0	15,500
21	Hanover	42	19	2	14,899
22	Ipswich	38	19	0	13,127
23	Norwell	33	19	2	11,258
24	North Chelmsford	29	19	1	7,287
25	Dedham	35	18	2	42,581
26	Woburn	33	18	2	38,120
27	Randolph	31	18	2	33,375
28	Andover	30	18	0	33,201
29	Chelmsford	33	18	2	28,079
30	Milford	35	18	1	27,999
31	Easton	35	18	2	23,112
32	Wilmington	41	18	2	22,325
33	Swansea	33	18	0	17,358
34	Whitman	35	18	2	14,574
35	Seekonk	27	18	2	13,627
36	Grafton	35	18	1	10,703
37	Maynard	31	18	1	10,665
38	Hanson	35	18	0	9,953
39	Littleton	30	18	1	9,182
40	Millbury	30	18	0	8,803
41	Falmouth	29	17	0	77,500
42	Lawrence	31	17	0	76,377
43	Taunton	27	17	0	58,088
44	Attleboro	31	17	1	43,593
45	Natick	32	17	2	36,137
46	Needham	31	17	0	32,485
47	Tewksbury	31	17	1	30,435
48	Wellesley	35	17	2	29,100
49	North Attleborough	37	17	2	28,712
50	Dartmouth	35	17	0	24,272
51	Mansfield	35	17	0	23,380
52	Newburyport	30	17	1	20,335
53	Norton	32	17	1	19,031
54	Holden	40	17	0	17,106
55	Webster	31	17	1	16,767
56	Ashland	28	17	0	16,593
57	Middleborough	38	17	1	16,470
58	Wayland	36	17	1	14,430
59	East Bridgewater	29	17	0	13,794
60	Holbrook	27	17	2	10,791
61	Uxbridge	29	17	1	10,715
62	Medway	34	17	0	9,654
63	Pepperell	28	17	2	8,178
64	Halifax	35	17	0	7,629
65	Ayer	31	17	2	7,427
66	Topsfield	30	17	1	5,257
67	North Dighton	29	17	0	4,709
68	Brockton	31	16	2	93,810
69	Weymouth	28	16	2	53,925
70	Hingham	29	16	0	41,082
71	Leominster	27	16	0	40,490
72	Shrewsbury	29	16	2	35,608
73	Franklin	33	16	0	32,445
74	Stoughton	30	16	2	26,962
75	Middleton	31	16	0	26,493
76	Dracut	33	16	1	25,741
77	Wakefield	29	16	1	24,932
78	Canton	35	16	0	21,458
79	Salisbury	28	16	0	20,000
80	Pembroke	30	16	0	19,189
81	Sudbury	34	16	1	18,410
82	Sharon	29	16	1	17,232
83	Medfield	32	16	1	12,595
84	Athol	25	16	0	10,172
85	Rockport	26	16	0	10,000
86	Hopkinton	28	16	1	8,980
87	Plainville	29	16	0	8,964
88	Norfolk	24	16	1	7,189
89	West Bridgewater	25	16	1	7,168
90	Sagamore Beach	25	16	0	4,553
91	Upton	29	16	0	4,338
92	Tyngsborough	30	16	0	3,601
93	Leicester	32	16	0	3,337
94	Lowell	30	15	0	106,519
95	Lynn	31	15	0	90,329
96	South Dennis	26	15	0	65,000
97	Methuen	32	15	0	50,259
98	Beverly	27	15	0	43,316
99	Salem	27	15	0	42,869
100	Gloucester	29	15	0	37,715
101	Braintree	25	15	2	37,544
102	Chatham	28	15	0	30,000
103	Sandwich	23	15	0	23,000
104	Somerset	27	15	0	18,257
105	Holliston	25	15	1	14,946
106	Raynham	28	15	1	9,880
107	Blackstone	23	15	0	8,962
108	Lynnfield	31	15	1	8,338
109	Northbridge	24	15	0	7,733
110	West Boylston	29	15	0	7,450
111	Groveland	31	15	0	6,605
112	Devens	33	15	0	6,500
113	Manchester By The Sea	26	15	1	5,654
114	Groton	23	15	0	5,229
115	Sturbridge	23	15	0	4,464
116	South Grafton	26	15	0	3,242
117	Byfield	22	15	0	2,330
118	Mendon	28	15	2	470
119	Westfield	29	14	3	42,000
120	Plymouth	26	14	0	41,499
121	Oak Bluffs	32	14	0	22,452
122	Provincetown	23	14	0	22,250
123	Wareham	25	14	0	20,830
124	Gardner	28	14	0	19,314
125	Amesbury	28	14	0	16,283
126	Wrentham	20	14	0	11,686
127	Hamilton	22	14	2	8,430
128	Dudley	26	14	2	7,644
129	Sterling	26	14	1	7,400
130	Merrimac	26	14	0	6,565
131	Orange	26	14	0	6,487
132	Oxford	24	14	0	6,266
133	Avon	24	14	2	4,292
134	Wenham	21	14	2	3,942
135	Lanesborough	25	14	2	2,324
136	Dover	24	14	1	1,809
137	Harvard	25	14	0	1,650
138	Cohasset	27	14	2	0
139	Worcester	25	13	0	181,045
140	New Bedford	31	13	0	95,072
141	Haverhill	27	13	0	57,311
142	Hyannis	31	13	1	35,000
143	North Andover	24	13	0	27,500
144	Greenfield	24	13	0	17,645
145	Duxbury	30	13	1	16,445
146	Kingston	29	13	0	13,720
147	Bedford	22	13	0	13,691
148	Millis	26	13	0	8,629
149	Acushnet	31	13	0	7,911
150	Ware	20	13	0	7,582
151	Southwick	24	13	0	7,380
152	Lincoln	25	13	0	5,610
153	Paxton	27	13	0	4,045
154	Three Rivers	21	13	0	3,258
155	Essex	20	13	0	3,200
156	Sutton	21	13	0	2,662
157	Lakeville	18	13	0	150
158	East Deerfield	24	13	0	100
159	Fall River	23	12	0	88,857
160	Brookline	24	12	0	58,732
161	Revere	25	12	0	51,755
162	Amherst	27	12	0	37,819
163	Northampton	28	12	0	28,548
164	Melrose	24	12	0	28,367
165	Reading	25	12	0	27,045
166	Saugus	25	12	0	24,703
167	Stoneham	24	12	0	21,437
168	Swampscott	26	12	0	13,787
169	Clinton	21	12	0	13,606
170	North Adams	22	12	0	13,000
171	Lunenburg	21	12	0	6,707
172	Onset	21	12	0	5,048
173	Barnstable	22	12	1	4,986
174	Westminster	26	12	0	3,500
175	Hatfield	25	12	0	3,292
176	West Brookfield	21	12	0	2,477
177	Westport	23	12	0	250
178	Boston	23	11	0	617,594
179	Quincy	23	11	0	96,329
180	Newton	23	11	0	89,045
181	Framingham	25	11	0	68,318
182	Malden	24	11	0	59,450
183	Arlington	25	11	0	42,844
184	Everett	23	11	0	42,101
185	Fitchburg	25	11	0	40,545
186	West Yarmouth	28	11	0	39,635
187	East Harwich	24	11	0	38,643
188	Marlborough	25	11	0	38,499
189	Lexington	24	11	0	32,271
190	West Springfield	24	11	2	28,391
191	Milton	23	11	0	27,003
192	Norwood	24	11	0	26,789
193	Belmont	25	11	0	24,254
194	Winchester	21	11	0	22,800
195	Marblehead	25	11	0	19,432
196	Orleans	22	11	0	17,670
197	Winthrop	24	11	0	17,497
198	Southbridge	24	11	0	15,287
199	Northborough	23	11	0	11,490
200	Weston	24	11	0	11,486
201	Georgetown	18	11	0	8,766
202	Spencer	20	11	0	7,037
203	Templeton	19	11	0	6,085
204	Palmer	17	11	0	4,789
205	Whately	21	11	0	1,500
206	Stow	21	11	0	300
207	Somerville	24	10	0	81,322
208	Waltham	23	10	0	60,630
209	Medford	23	10	0	57,000
210	Chelsea	24	10	0	35,177
211	Brewster	25	10	0	35,000
212	Watertown	23	10	0	31,915
213	Fairhaven	13	10	0	15,792
214	Southborough	20	10	0	10,401
215	Dalton	22	10	0	6,420
216	Winchendon	17	10	0	5,706
217	Rutland	19	10	0	5,401
218	Cotuit	19	10	0	4,953
219	Great Barrington	14	10	0	4,100
220	Nahant	20	10	0	3,410
221	Boylston	18	10	0	3,182
222	Belchertown	15	10	0	3,167
223	Stockbridge	17	10	0	2,800
224	West Stockbridge	14	10	0	535
225	Montague	14	10	0	450
226	Bolton	20	10	0	148
227	Bondsville	17	10	0	0
228	Springfield	18	9	1	230,331
229	Pittsfield	20	9	0	44,737
230	Holyoke	20	9	0	40,124
231	Mashpee	21	9	0	34,681
232	Marshfield	25	9	0	34,000
233	Longmeadow	19	9	0	15,701
234	South Hadley	13	9	0	14,000
235	Hadley	15	9	0	5,079
236	Shirley	14	9	0	4,960
237	North Brookfield	18	9	0	3,860
238	Douglas	20	9	0	3,855
239	North Plymouth	17	9	0	2,534
240	Eastham	13	9	0	2,026
241	Deerfield	10	9	0	1,300
242	Sandisfield	15	9	0	100
243	Blandford	14	9	0	0
244	Chicopee	11	8	0	55,144
245	Agawam	19	8	0	28,849
246	East Longmeadow	19	8	0	16,162
247	South Deerfield	14	8	0	3,800
248	Hinsdale	13	8	0	1,800
249	Worthington	10	8	0	565
250	Boxborough	12	8	2	500
251	Rehoboth	15	8	0	100
252	Southfield	13	8	0	80
253	Osterville	18	7	0	50,000
254	Hanscom AFB	8	7	0	11,799
255	Wilbraham	8	7	0	8,510
256	Townsend	17	7	2	6,500
257	Lancaster	15	7	0	6,000
258	Lee	16	7	0	5,058
259	Southampton	24	7	0	4,695
260	Monson	17	7	0	4,176
261	Assonet	9	7	0	1,600
262	Thorndike	7	7	0	1,435
263	South Egremont	11	7	0	1,000
264	Boxford	14	7	2	145
265	Sherborn	13	7	0	110
266	Monroe	10	7	0	55
267	Pocasset	22	6	0	22,500
268	Lenox	9	6	0	9,800
269	Edgartown	17	6	0	6,993
270	Ashburnham	7	6	0	3,680
271	Haydenville	12	6	0	1,622
272	Gill	15	6	1	750
273	East Northfield	11	6	0	726
274	Ashfield	8	6	0	400
275	Monterey	8	6	0	149
276	Bourne	22	6	0	136
277	North Truro	15	6	1	80
278	Mill River	12	6	0	60
279	Chester	13	6	1	0
280	Easthampton	21	5	0	16,053
281	Marion	13	5	0	6,076
282	Brookfield	12	5	0	1,138
283	Hancock	10	5	0	1,000
284	Dunstable	11	5	0	598
285	Hardwick	9	5	0	300
286	Clarksburg	8	5	0	180
287	Nantucket	13	4	0	27,703
288	Adams	7	4	0	8,162
289	Tisbury	10	4	0	6,082
290	Bernardston	9	4	0	1,475
291	Cheshire	9	4	0	1,407
292	Russell	9	4	0	1,228
293	Huntington	9	4	0	1,200
294	Warren	9	4	0	927
295	Carver	9	4	0	750
296	Granby	9	4	1	305
297	Royalston	8	4	0	275
298	Barre	11	4	0	114
299	Plympton	10	4	0	80
300	Northfield	5	3	0	800
301	Hampden	13	3	0	100
302	West Tisbury	6	3	0	80
303	Charlemont	5	3	0	36
304	Sunderland	7	2	0	2,990
305	East Brookfield	6	2	0	1,526
306	Gosnold	5	2	0	425
307	Berlin	8	2	0	272
308	Cummington	5	2	0	265
309	Brimfield	7	2	0	137
310	Wales	7	2	0	80
311	Chilmark	5	2	0	0
312	Mattapoisett	2	1	0	6,979
313	Shelburne Falls	3	1	0	1,978
314	Wellfleet	5	1	0	750
315	Erving	3	1	0	561
316	Gleasondale	4	1	0	104
317	Granville	4	1	0	75
318	Hubbardston	2	1	0	40
319	Shelburne	1	1	0	33
320	Williamstown	7	0	0	7,326
321	Turners Falls	5	0	0	7,057
322	Sheffield	3	0	0	965
323	Charlton	1	0	0	835
324	Buzzards Bay	0	0	0	600
325	Colrain	2	0	0	125
326	Leeds	1	0	0	120
327	Carlisle	2	0	0	50
328	Richmond	2	0	0	38
329	Goshen	3	0	0	25

Recommended Filtration for Massachusetts

Based on the most common contaminants found across Massachusetts (Manganese, Nitrate, Chloroform), we recommend a reverse osmosis system or high-quality carbon block filter to remove disinfection byproducts and their precursors.

Echo RO System

Removes up to 99.9% of contaminants. The gold standard for drinking water in Massachusetts homes.

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Echo Whole-Home Filter

Protect every tap in your home from chlorine, VOCs, and disinfection byproducts.

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Echo Hydrogen Water Flask

Once your water is clean, supercharge it with molecular hydrogen for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Massachusetts tap water safe to drink?

Water quality varies significantly across Massachusetts. Of the 329 cities analyzed, the average city has 11.6 contaminants above EWG health guidelines. The best water quality was found in Williamstown. We recommend checking your specific city's report for detailed information.

What city has the best water in Massachusetts?

Based on our analysis, Williamstown has the fewest contaminants above EWG health guidelines in Massachusetts, with 0 above guideline levels.

What city has the worst water in Massachusetts?

Based on our analysis, Hopedale has the most contaminants above EWG health guidelines in Massachusetts, with 21 above guideline levels.

What's the best water filter for Massachusetts residents?

For most Massachusetts households, we recommend a reverse osmosis (RO) system for drinking water and a whole-home filter for showers and baths. The specific recommendation depends on your city's contaminant profile — check your city's report for personalized guidance.

National Water Quality Reports

Data sources: Environmental Working Group (EWG) Tap Water Database, U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS)

Last updated: March 2026

Methodology: Contaminant levels are compared against both EPA legal limits (Maximum Contaminant Levels) and EWG health guidelines, which are often stricter and based on the latest scientific research.

Massachusetts Water Quality Report (2026)