Tax rates, home values, school staffing, and employer health contributions for four North Shore towns.
A town's tax rate and its home values tend to move in opposite directions. Towns with lower assessed values need higher rates to raise the same revenue. The result: the sticker price on the house is different, but the annual carrying cost can be similar. This page puts the tax tradeoff and school staffing data side by side for four towns.
| Town | FY26 Rate | Median Home | Avg. single-family bill | Residential share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marblehead | $8.56 | $1,010,100 | $11,055 | 95.5% |
| Swampscott | $12.00 | ~$643,000 | $11,478 | 88.6% |
| Melrose | $11.47 | $853,264 | $9,787 | 91.4% |
| Stoneham | $10.06 | ~$601,000 | $8,059 | 83.0% |
Marblehead has the lowest rate and the second-highest bill. Swampscott has the highest rate and the highest bill. The rate and the bill answer different questions: the rate reflects how much revenue the town needs per dollar of property value, while the bill reflects what a homeowner actually pays. Residential share shows how much of the total levy falls on homeowners vs. commercial and industrial property.
FY2026 residential tax rate plotted against median assessed home value. Higher home values allow a lower rate to raise comparable revenue. The Melrose FY26 rate reflects a $13.5M override passed November 2025. Stoneham's $9.3M override (December 2025) is not yet reflected in this rate.
Students-per-teacher uses DESE teacher FTE and enrollment for SY2023–24. Total school FTE per 100 students includes all staff reported to DESE EPIMS for SY2025–26 (administrators, teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors, special education, office and clerical, medical, and support). Higher values mean more staff per student. These ratios reflect district staffing models and special education caseloads, not quality or efficiency.
Marblehead
83%
employer share
Melrose
80%+
employer share
Stoneham
80%
employer share
Swampscott
73%
employer share
Modal employer premium contribution share for health insurance, FY2026. These are the most common split across each town's plan options. Stoneham has a tiered structure: 80% for post-2009 hires, 90% legacy for pre-2009 hires. Melrose is reported as "over 80%" per PEC agreement. Swampscott's 73/27 split is per the town's FY2025 Open Enrollment rate sheet. All four towns participate in the GIC. For how those premiums have grown relative to the tax levy, see Why Health Insurance Keeps Rising.
Tax rate source: MA DOR Division of Local Services, Tax Rates by Class, FY2026.
Average single-family tax bill source: MA DOR DLS, "Average Single Family Tax Bill" report, FY2026.
Residential share source: MA DOR DLS, Tax Levy by Class, FY2026.
Median assessed home value: Marblehead and Melrose from DOR; Swampscott from Assessor's Office; Stoneham estimated from DOR average bill / rate.
Students per teacher: DESE, SY2023–24 staffing and enrollment data.
Total school FTE: DESE EPIMS, SY2025–26.
Employer premium share: Town GIC rate sheets and PEC agreements, FY2026. See Source Lookup for document links.
Melrose FY26 tax rate reflects a $13.5M override passed November 2025. Stoneham's $9.3M override (December 2025) is not yet reflected in FY26 data.
These four towns are North Shore neighbors. Compare home values and tax rates across all 351 MA communities in the Town Explorer.