snapshot: home schooled per 1,000 students, 2011-2012
By Matt Carroll, Globe Staff | Jan. 23, 2014
Some parents prefer to educate their children at home. The number of home-schooled students across the state was about 7.6 per 1,000 students, per community. The data shows the top 25 school, which are all smaller communities. The data, from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, is for 2011-2012.
| Community | Home schooled per 1,000 students | Rank | Number home schooled | Total students |
| Abington | 7.5 | 173 | 19 | 2,528 |
| Acton | 3.4 | 266 | 17 | 5,049 |
| Acushnet | 6.4 | 197 | 10 | 1,565 |
| Adams | 10.2 | 130 | 13 | 1,278 |
| Agawam | 17.6 | 68 | 75 | 4,260 |
| Alford | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 48 |
| Amesbury | 8.5 | 159 | 23 | 2,718 |
| Amherst | 19.0 | 60 | 52 | 2,739 |
| Andover | 5.4 | 216 | 41 | 7,557 |
| Aquinnah | 21.7 | 49 | 1 | 46 |
| Arlington | 12.0 | 118 | 71 | 5,929 |
| Ashburnham | 17.5 | 69 | 20 | 1,140 |
| Ashby | 39.6 | 23 | 22 | 555 |
| Ashfield | 85.7 | 4 | 21 | 245 |
| Ashland | 5.6 | 212 | 16 | 2,849 |
| Athol | 21.4 | 52 | 38 | 1,778 |
| Attleboro | 12.2 | 112 | 83 | 6,778 |
| Auburn | 8.3 | 161 | 22 | 2,637 |
| Avon | 1.6 | 307 | 1 | 645 |
| Ayer | 11.0 | 125 | 12 | 1,091 |
| Barnstable | 10.0 | 134 | 60 | 5,991 |
| Barre | 19.2 | 58 | 18 | 936 |
| Becket | 19.7 | 57 | 4 | 203 |
| Bedford | 6.6 | 191 | 16 | 2,422 |
| Belchertown | 16.0 | 74 | 45 | 2,819 |
| Bellingham | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Belmont | 2.1 | 294 | 9 | 4,387 |
| Berkley | 17.6 | 67 | 22 | 1,247 |
| Berlin | 13.4 | 100 | 6 | 447 |
| Bernardston | 9.6 | 143 | 3 | 313 |
| Beverly | 9.1 | 151 | 48 | 5,257 |
| Billerica | 4.8 | 231 | 32 | 6,693 |
| Blackstone | 5.4 | 215 | 8 | 1,469 |
| Blandford | 6.1 | 201 | 1 | 163 |
| Bolton | 4.6 | 235 | 5 | 1,098 |
| Boston | 1.5 | 309 | 109 | 71,830 |
| Bourne | 10.7 | 127 | 28 | 2,611 |
| Boxborough | 2.9 | 277 | 3 | 1,025 |
| Boxford | 12.5 | 111 | 22 | 1,765 |
| Boylston | 13.7 | 97 | 10 | 731 |
| Braintree | 2.5 | 289 | 15 | 5,967 |
| Brewster | 3.5 | 259 | 4 | 1,128 |
| Bridgewater | 15.7 | 78 | 60 | 3,830 |
| Brimfield | 11.7 | 119 | 7 | 597 |
| Brockton | 4.3 | 246 | 77 | 17,995 |
| Brookfield | 27.0 | 33 | 14 | 518 |
| Brookline | NA | NA | NA | 7,071 |
| Buckland | 4.0 | 249 | 1 | 250 |
| Burlington | 3.4 | 266 | 13 | 3,861 |
| Cambridge | 3.4 | 265 | 25 | 7,270 |
| Canton | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Carlisle | 13.6 | 99 | 15 | 1,101 |
| Carver | 13.9 | 92 | 27 | 1,939 |
| Charlemont | 5.7 | 209 | 1 | 175 |
| Charlton | 13.3 | 101 | 33 | 2,481 |
| Chatham | 2.2 | 291 | 1 | 448 |
| Chelmsford | 6.3 | 200 | 36 | 5,754 |
| Chelsea | 1.3 | 313 | 8 | 6,138 |
| Cheshire | 22.0 | 48 | 9 | 409 |
| Chester | 46.3 | 18 | 10 | 216 |
| Chesterfield | 5.8 | 207 | 1 | 173 |
| Chicopee | 7.2 | 181 | 59 | 8,242 |
| Chilmark | 35.4 | 28 | 4 | 113 |
| Clarksburg | 14.6 | 85 | 4 | 274 |
| Clinton | 8.4 | 160 | 17 | 2,027 |
| Cohasset | 2.3 | 290 | 4 | 1,738 |
| Colrain | 37.9 | 24 | 8 | 211 |
| Community | Home schooled per 1,000 students | Rank | Number home schooled | Total students |
| Concord | 2.9 | 280 | 9 | 3,149 |
| Conway | 3.2 | 270 | 1 | 308 |
| Cummington | 85.5 | 5 | 10 | 117 |
| Dalton | 2.7 | 286 | 3 | 1,119 |
| Danvers | 6.6 | 189 | 27 | 4,072 |
| Dartmouth | 6.3 | 199 | 28 | 4,458 |
| Dedham | 7.1 | 183 | 24 | 3,402 |
| Deerfield | 3.5 | 260 | 3 | 847 |
| Dennis | 9.5 | 146 | 13 | 1,373 |
| Devens | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 76 |
| Dighton | 14.5 | 86 | 20 | 1,381 |
| Douglas | 18.4 | 63 | 32 | 1,738 |
| Dover | 1.4 | 311 | 2 | 1,437 |
| Dracut | 5.4 | 219 | 27 | 5,035 |
| Dudley | 7.4 | 174 | 15 | 2,019 |
| Dunstable | 19.2 | 59 | 14 | 729 |
| Duxbury | 4.4 | 240 | 15 | 3,397 |
| East Bridgewater | 5.1 | 225 | 13 | 2,534 |
| East Brookfield | 33.4 | 29 | 13 | 389 |
| Eastham | 2.0 | 295 | 1 | 498 |
| Easthampton | 11.6 | 120 | 23 | 1,987 |
| East Longmeadow | 5.9 | 206 | 17 | 2,888 |
| Easton | 4.5 | 237 | 18 | 4,018 |
| Edgartown | 10.2 | 131 | 6 | 591 |
| Egremont | 23.4 | 43 | 3 | 128 |
| Erving | 7.3 | 177 | 2 | 273 |
| Essex | 9.9 | 136 | 6 | 604 |
| Everett | 0.4 | 317 | 3 | 6,942 |
| Fairhaven | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 2,315 |
| Fall River | 7.3 | 176 | 94 | 12,827 |
| Falmouth | 9.7 | 140 | 39 | 4,039 |
| Fitchburg | 8.2 | 163 | 51 | 6,212 |
| Florida | 18.2 | 65 | 2 | 110 |
| Foxborough | 3.0 | 276 | 9 | 3,019 |
| Framingham | 6.7 | 187 | 63 | 9,458 |
| Franklin | 4.4 | 243 | 30 | 6,873 |
| Freetown | 14.4 | 88 | 21 | 1,459 |
| Gardner | 12.0 | 116 | 35 | 2,908 |
| Georgetown | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 1,655 |
| Gill | 45.5 | 19 | 9 | 198 |
| Gloucester | 12.5 | 109 | 46 | 3,677 |
| Goshen | 21.3 | 53 | 3 | 141 |
| Gosnold | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 6 |
| Grafton | 51.7 | 13 | 25 | 484 |
| Granby | 14.3 | 89 | 17 | 1,187 |
| Granville | 22.9 | 45 | 5 | 218 |
| Great Barrington | 12.2 | 113 | 11 | 899 |
| Greenfield | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 2,226 |
| Groton | 9.7 | 141 | 23 | 2,382 |
| Groveland | 13.8 | 95 | 18 | 1,304 |
| Hadley | 15.5 | 80 | 11 | 710 |
| Halifax | 7.9 | 168 | 10 | 1,268 |
| Hamilton | 15.6 | 79 | 24 | 1,539 |
| Hampden | 9.4 | 147 | 8 | 854 |
| Hancock | 63.2 | 10 | 6 | 95 |
| Hanover | 1.3 | 312 | 4 | 3,002 |
| Hanson | 9.3 | 148 | 19 | 2,042 |
| Hardwick | 10.1 | 132 | 4 | 397 |
| Harvard | 3.4 | 268 | 4 | 1,194 |
| Harwich | 13.2 | 104 | 20 | 1,520 |
| Hatfield | 4.9 | 230 | 2 | 407 |
| Haverhill | 6.5 | 196 | 62 | 9,609 |
| Hawley | 25.6 | 36 | 1 | 39 |
| Heath | 50.5 | 16 | 5 | 99 |
| Hingham | 2.6 | 287 | 12 | 4,579 |
| Hinsdale | 26.7 | 34 | 8 | 300 |
| Holbrook | NA | NA | NA | 1,591 |
| Holden | 1.8 | 300 | 6 | 3,386 |
| Holland | 23.0 | 44 | 9 | 392 |
| Holliston | 7.0 | 184 | 20 | 2,859 |
| Holyoke | NA | NA | NA | 5,589 |
| Hopedale | 6.0 | 205 | 7 | 1,171 |
| Hopkinton | 5.6 | 211 | 20 | 3,543 |
| Hubbardston | 39.9 | 22 | 34 | 853 |
| Hudson | 3.7 | 256 | 12 | 3,221 |
| Hull | 5.6 | 210 | 7 | 1,239 |
| Huntington | 88.1 | 3 | 31 | 352 |
| Ipswich | 18.0 | 66 | 39 | 2,168 |
| Kingston | 13.8 | 94 | 34 | 2,462 |
| Lakeville | 7.0 | 186 | 14 | 2,014 |
| Lancaster | 18.7 | 61 | 19 | 1,015 |
| Lanesborough | 23.6 | 42 | 11 | 467 |
| Lawrence | 1.5 | 308 | 24 | 15,807 |
| Lee | 23.7 | 41 | 19 | 801 |
| Leicester | 11.0 | 124 | 20 | 1,817 |
| Lenox | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 653 |
| Leominster | 13.2 | 103 | 89 | 6,744 |
| Leverett | 50.0 | 17 | 8 | 160 |
| Lexington | 3.5 | 261 | 26 | 7,408 |
| Leyden | 83.3 | 6 | 8 | 96 |
| Lincoln | 3.3 | 269 | 3 | 914 |
| Littleton | 10.3 | 129 | 18 | 1,754 |
| Longmeadow | 1.6 | 304 | 5 | 3,145 |
| Lowell | 2.9 | 279 | 49 | 17,138 |
| Ludlow | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 3,071 |
| Lunenburg | 7.8 | 169 | 14 | 1,797 |
| Lynn | 2.2 | 292 | 34 | 15,669 |
| Lynnfield | 2.1 | 293 | 5 | 2,432 |
| Malden | NA | NA | NA | 6,816 |
| Manchester | 5.2 | 224 | 5 | 968 |
| Mansfield | 0.6 | 316 | 3 | 5,117 |
| Marblehead | 3.7 | 257 | 14 | 3,760 |
| Marion | 4.6 | 236 | 4 | 879 |
| Marlborough | 9.0 | 152 | 51 | 5,649 |
| Marshfield | 4.0 | 250 | 19 | 4,767 |
| Mashpee | 7.3 | 178 | 14 | 1,923 |
| Mattapoisett | 2.0 | 296 | 2 | 1,016 |
| Maynard | 12.6 | 108 | 19 | 1,510 |
| Medfield | 1.6 | 303 | 5 | 3,072 |
| Medford | NA | NA | NA | 6,004 |
| Medway | 4.4 | 239 | 12 | 2,715 |
| Melrose | 3.2 | 271 | 14 | 4,351 |
| Mendon | 9.3 | 149 | 12 | 1,290 |
| Merrimac | 13.7 | 96 | 17 | 1,239 |
| Methuen | 5.5 | 214 | 46 | 8,377 |
| Middleborough | 12.9 | 106 | 50 | 3,889 |
| Middlefield | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 63 |
| Middleton | 5.2 | 223 | 8 | 1,545 |
| Milford | 7.1 | 182 | 31 | 4,389 |
| Millbury | 6.0 | 203 | 12 | 1,998 |
| Millis | 2.6 | 288 | 4 | 1,556 |
| Millville | 1.6 | 305 | 1 | 642 |
| Milton | 1.0 | 314 | 5 | 4,960 |
| Monroe | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 9 |
| Monson | 15.0 | 83 | 22 | 1,462 |
| Montague | 26.5 | 35 | 28 | 1,056 |
| Monterey | 21.7 | 49 | 2 | 92 |
| Montgomery | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 105 |
| Mount Washington | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 12 |
| Nahant | NA | NA | NA | 409 |
| Nantucket | 5.8 | 208 | 9 | 1,558 |
| Natick | 4.3 | 245 | 24 | 5,569 |
| Needham | 1.4 | 310 | 9 | 6,328 |
| New Ashford | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 38 |
| New Bedford | 3.9 | 252 | 60 | 15,193 |
| New Braintree | 12.5 | 110 | 2 | 160 |
| Newbury | 6.5 | 192 | 7 | 1,071 |
| Newburyport | 2.9 | 278 | 8 | 2,765 |
| New Marlborough | 35.5 | 26 | 7 | 197 |
| New Salem | 90.9 | 1 | 7 | 77 |
| Newton | 2.8 | 285 | 39 | 14,175 |
| Norfolk | 6.6 | 190 | 13 | 1,963 |
| North Adams | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 1,671 |
| Northampton | 8.2 | 165 | 27 | 3,312 |
| North Andover | 6.5 | 194 | 36 | 5,547 |
| North Attleborough | 6.1 | 202 | 33 | 5,452 |
| Northborough | 5.0 | 228 | 15 | 2,988 |
| Northbridge | 7.3 | 175 | 22 | 3,002 |
| North Brookfield | 40.2 | 21 | 29 | 721 |
| Northfield | 24.5 | 37 | 12 | 489 |
| North Reading | 2.8 | 284 | 8 | 2,861 |
| Norton | 5.4 | 218 | 17 | 3,169 |
| Norwell | 0.8 | 315 | 2 | 2,427 |
| Norwood | 4.2 | 247 | 17 | 4,007 |
| Oak Bluffs | 8.6 | 158 | 5 | 584 |
| Oakham | 30.9 | 30 | 10 | 324 |
| Orange | 18.3 | 64 | 13 | 712 |
| Orleans | 8.7 | 154 | 4 | 462 |
| Otis | 22.5 | 46 | 4 | 178 |
| Oxford | 9.8 | 138 | 23 | 2,340 |
| Palmer | 14.1 | 91 | 27 | 1,919 |
| Paxton | 4.9 | 229 | 4 | 810 |
| Peabody | 4.0 | 251 | 28 | 7,079 |
| Pelham | 51.3 | 14 | 4 | 78 |
| Pembroke | 4.4 | 242 | 15 | 3,424 |
| Pepperell | 13.2 | 102 | 29 | 2,195 |
| Peru | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 123 |
| Petersham | 21.7 | 49 | 4 | 184 |
| Phillipston | 17.1 | 70 | 5 | 292 |
| Pittsfield | 8.9 | 153 | 59 | 6,596 |
| Plainfield | 51.3 | 14 | 4 | 78 |
| Plainville | 12.0 | 117 | 18 | 1,499 |
| Plymouth | 9.3 | 150 | 83 | 8,929 |
| Plympton | 12.9 | 105 | 6 | 466 |
| Princeton | 8.2 | 164 | 5 | 610 |
| Provincetown | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 128 |
| Quincy | 1.6 | 306 | 16 | 10,302 |
| Randolph | 1.9 | 298 | 8 | 4,245 |
| Raynham | 11.3 | 122 | 28 | 2,479 |
| Reading | 2.8 | 283 | 13 | 4,583 |
| Rehoboth | 16.9 | 71 | 36 | 2,128 |
| Revere | NA | NA | NA | 7,177 |
| Richmond | 6.5 | 192 | 1 | 153 |
| Rochester | 2.8 | 281 | 3 | 1,054 |
| Rockland | 5.4 | 220 | 15 | 2,798 |
| Rockport | 8.3 | 162 | 7 | 846 |
| Rowe | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 64 |
| Rowley | 14.4 | 87 | 15 | 1,041 |
| Royalston | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 156 |
| Russell | 90.1 | 2 | 29 | 322 |
| Rutland | 9.6 | 142 | 17 | 1,769 |
| Salem | 4.4 | 244 | 23 | 5,273 |
| Salisbury | 15.7 | 76 | 17 | 1,082 |
| Sandisfield | 60.0 | 11 | 6 | 100 |
| Sandwich | 9.8 | 139 | 37 | 3,765 |
| Saugus | 5.2 | 222 | 19 | 3,635 |
| Savoy | 74.8 | 8 | 8 | 107 |
| Scituate | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Seekonk | 8.7 | 155 | 21 | 2,426 |
| Sharon | 3.2 | 273 | 13 | 4,111 |
| Sheffield | 12.1 | 114 | 6 | 494 |
| Shelburne | 28.6 | 32 | 6 | 210 |
| Sherborn | 1.9 | 297 | 2 | 1,038 |
| Shirley | 15.1 | 82 | 12 | 796 |
| Shrewsbury | 6.0 | 204 | 42 | 7,021 |
| Shutesbury | 18.6 | 62 | 3 | 161 |
| Somerset | 4.8 | 232 | 13 | 2,720 |
| Somerville | 5.4 | 217 | 31 | 5,758 |
| Southampton | 7.2 | 180 | 7 | 970 |
| Southborough | 3.5 | 263 | 8 | 2,297 |
| Southbridge | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 2,687 |
| South Hadley | 13.9 | 93 | 29 | 2,093 |
| Southwick | 23.9 | 40 | 37 | 1,549 |
| Spencer | 21.1 | 56 | 37 | 1,752 |
| Springfield | 6.6 | 188 | 189 | 28,435 |
| Sterling | 16.5 | 72 | 24 | 1,456 |
| Stockbridge | 10.9 | 126 | 2 | 184 |
| Stoneham | 9.6 | 145 | 29 | 3,031 |
| Stoughton | 0.2 | 318 | 1 | 4,155 |
| Stow | 22.2 | 47 | 29 | 1,304 |
| Sturbridge | 13.6 | 98 | 23 | 1,688 |
| Sudbury | 3.9 | 253 | 12 | 3,072 |
| Sunderland | 2.8 | 282 | 1 | 352 |
| Sutton | 14.3 | 90 | 26 | 1,820 |
| Swampscott | 3.2 | 275 | 8 | 2,534 |
| Swansea | 7.5 | 172 | 18 | 2,391 |
| Taunton | 8.6 | 156 | 78 | 9,040 |
| Templeton | 16.1 | 73 | 22 | 1,369 |
| Tewksbury | 4.7 | 233 | 23 | 4,854 |
| Tisbury | 12.7 | 107 | 7 | 551 |
| Tolland | 56.3 | 12 | 4 | 71 |
| Topsfield | 9.9 | 137 | 13 | 1,314 |
| Townsend | 15.1 | 81 | 25 | 1,657 |
| Truro | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 200 |
| Tyngsborough | 10.0 | 135 | 22 | 2,207 |
| Tyringham | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 30 |
| Upton | 21.2 | 54 | 34 | 1,607 |
| Uxbridge | 14.8 | 84 | 35 | 2,359 |
| Wakefield | 5.1 | 227 | 19 | 3,746 |
| Wales | 35.5 | 27 | 10 | 282 |
| Walpole | 1.7 | 301 | 8 | 4,580 |
| Waltham | 4.5 | 238 | 25 | 5,584 |
| Ware | 9.6 | 144 | 14 | 1,461 |
| Wareham | 7.6 | 171 | 25 | 3,284 |
| Warren | 37.7 | 25 | 32 | 848 |
| Warwick | 30.3 | 31 | 3 | 99 |
| Washington | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 55 |
| Watertown | 8.6 | 157 | 26 | 3,029 |
| Wayland | 4.4 | 241 | 12 | 2,729 |
| Webster | 7.8 | 170 | 19 | 2,441 |
| Wellesley | 1.7 | 302 | 10 | 5,781 |
| Wellfleet | 3.5 | 264 | 1 | 288 |
| Wendell | 83.3 | 6 | 4 | 48 |
| Wenham | 5.3 | 221 | 4 | 748 |
| Westborough | 4.1 | 248 | 15 | 3,625 |
| West Boylston | 11.0 | 123 | 11 | 998 |
| West Bridgewater | 8.1 | 167 | 9 | 1,115 |
| West Brookfield | 3.8 | 255 | 2 | 532 |
| Westfield | 12.1 | 115 | 73 | 6,024 |
| Westford | 5.6 | 213 | 30 | 5,357 |
| Westhampton | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 265 |
| Westminster | 15.7 | 77 | 21 | 1,339 |
| West Newbury | 7.2 | 179 | 6 | 829 |
| Weston | 1.9 | 299 | 5 | 2,671 |
| Westport | 41.4 | 20 | 25 | 604 |
| West Springfield | 10.0 | 133 | 42 | 4,191 |
| West Stockbridge | 11.4 | 121 | 2 | 176 |
| West Tisbury | 15.9 | 75 | 6 | 377 |
| Westwood | NA | NA | NA | 3,518 |
| Weymouth | 5.1 | 226 | 40 | 7,856 |
| Whately | 0.0 | 319 | 0 | 225 |
| Whitman | 10.7 | 128 | 28 | 2,618 |
| Wilbraham | 6.5 | 195 | 17 | 2,632 |
| Williamsburg | 21.1 | 55 | 7 | 331 |
| Williamstown | 24.2 | 39 | 18 | 743 |
| Wilmington | 3.2 | 274 | 13 | 4,113 |
| Winchendon | 24.5 | 38 | 45 | 1,839 |
| Winchester | 3.2 | 272 | 14 | 4,422 |
| Windsor | 7.0 | 185 | 1 | 143 |
| Winthrop | 3.7 | 258 | 8 | 2,158 |
| Woburn | 8.1 | 166 | 42 | 5,177 |
| Worcester | 4.7 | 234 | 138 | 29,527 |
| Worthington | 67.1 | 9 | 10 | 149 |
| Wrentham | 3.5 | 262 | 8 | 2,293 |
| Yarmouth | 3.9 | 254 | 10 | 2,572 |