Geographic-scope notice: North Reading is not a separately-incorporated place in the U.S. Census Bureau's Place geography – it is either a neighborhood within a larger municipality (in Middlesex County) or a town-class subdivision in a state where the Census reports demographics at the town rather than place level. To avoid presenting county-level aggregates as city-level data, this page does not show synthetic Census or health figures for North Reading. For the surrounding county aggregates, see the Massachusetts state directory.
City safety & data profile
North ReadingMA
North Reading, MA is a 14K-resident city in Middlesex County.
Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Federal health, economic, and safety indicators for North Reading, drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, CDC PLACES, and CMS Hospital Compare. North Reading has a population larger than 23% of the 4,640 U.S. cities Areazine tracks.
Data updated 2026-07-20
- 14K
- Population
- Top 77%
- By size
The read on North Reading
North Reading is one of the 4,640 U.S. cities Areazine tracks.
The quick read
Reading North Reading, MA beyond the headline numbers
North Reading sits inside Middlesex County, Massachusetts, at roughly 42.58°N, -71.08°W. Population 14,101.
Sources: U.S. Census ACS, CDC PLACES, CMS Hospital Compare, plus live alerts for North Reading from FEMA, NOAA, FDA, and CPSC. Comparison bars benchmark each metric against the national reference.
Safety Context
North Reading, MA is located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. With a population of 14K, Safety alerts for the North Reading area are monitored from federal and state agencies including FEMA, NOAA, FDA, and CPSC.
Safety Guides
Primary source data
EPA Outdoor Air Quality Data
Federal monitoring network, every measurement we report
AirNow - Massachusetts
Real-time AQI for every monitored Massachusetts location
National Weather Service
NOAA active watches, warnings, advisories
CDC Air Quality & Health
Health-impact reference for every AQI category
EPA NAAQS standards
National Ambient Air Quality Standards, the regulatory thresholds
Nearby Cities 8
Using North Reading's profile
Use this as a starting research checklist, not a verdict on whether to live here.
- Check live recalls, weather and hazard alerts scoped to the North Reading area before relying on national headlines. Check your area
- Read the poverty rate alongside the income figure, two places with the same median can have very different realities.
- Compare North Reading against Massachusetts peers on any ranking lens. Explore Massachusetts
Population and economics (income, home value, poverty, education) are place-level U.S. Census ACS; health is CDC PLACES; hospital counts reflect facilities in and around the city.
Data Sources
All data on this page comes from official U.S. government sources. Population and economic data from the Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates, place geography). Health data from the CDC PLACES program (2023). Hospital ratings from CMS Hospital Compare (2024). Climate data from NOAA. Education data from NCES. Cost of living from Bureau of Economic Analysis. Crime statistics, where referenced on Areazine, originate from the FBI Crime Data Explorer. Housing market figures referenced on Areazine come from HUD Fair Market Rents. Census economics and population are at place geography; some health and hospital indicators are reported at the county level (Middlesex County) where that is the smallest published unit.
Every figure on Areazine is published directly from official U.S. government sources, no number is typed in by an editor. City demographic and health figures are compiled directly from U.S. Census, CDC, and CMS releases, updated quarterly within 30 days of upstream release. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.