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Concord, MA: town finances

Low debt and solid savings (10% of budget); override vote unlikely, with room under the tax cap.

Budget grade

B · Solid

Better than 80% of MA towns · score 89 of 100

Ability to pay

Top 5% for income and property value

Shown separately; not part of the budget grade. Income per resident $101,200 (Census ACS 2020-24); property value (EQV) per resident $553,232 (DLS 2024).

Chance of an override vote

Low

2 points on our 0-8 scale: Low 0-2, Medium 3-4, High 5+. It ranks towns; it is not a percentage.

The story in charts

Concord: the resilient exception, with $3.4M of unused taxing room and no override vote since 2006

Concord: the resilient exception, with $3.4M of unused taxing room and no override vote since 2006. Concord has never dipped below 2.5% of unused room under the tax cap since FY12, and free cash rebounded to 12.2% of the budget (median 7.1%) after a dip in FY21. Bills still rose 59% since FY15 (prices +35%), and K–8 enrollment is down 12%. Panels 4–6 cover the K–8 district only; high school is regional Concord-Carlisle.
Concord has never dipped below 2.5% of unused room under the tax cap since FY12, and free cash rebounded to 12.2% of the budget (median 7.1%) after a dip in FY21. Bills still rose 59% since FY15 (prices +35%), and K–8 enrollment is down 12%. Panels 4–6 cover the K–8 district only; high school is regional Concord-Carlisle. Source: MA DLS and DESE. Click the chart to open it full size.

Concord also appears in: The wealthiest big suburbs: fewer students, costlier schools, tax bills ahead of inflation

See the statewide picture →

Key numbers

MeasureConcordMedian MA town
Typical tax bill, FY2026 (average single-family)$20,517$6,755
Tax bill as a share of median household income10.5%6.4%
Tax bill growth per year, FY2016-264.28%3.95%
Override vote dates, last 5 yearsNo35% of towns had one
Savings (reserves), % of budget, FY2024-26 average10.5%7.3%
Debt, % of property value, FY2023-25 (voter-approved debt at half weight)0.78%0.70%
Debt payments inside the tax cap, % of budget0.5%1.3%
Unused room under the tax cap, FY2026 (% of max levy)2.69%0.34%
School enrollment, 5-year change-8%-2%
Students per teacher, 2025-2610.611.4
Median single-family sale price, 2024$1.6M (162 sales)$614k
Single-family price change, 2019-24+20.9%+52.8%
Median household income (Census, 2020-24)$195,350$113,750
Population (DLS)17,95410,585

Main school district: Concord. Shaded = worse than the median town on tax bill share or enrollment. Medians are across all 351 towns with data.

Why this budget grade

Budget grade B, solid (89/100; better than 80% of MA towns): reserves averaged 10% of budget over FY2024-26 (state median 7.3%); debt 0.78% of property value with voter-approved debt at half weight (1.47% before; median 0.70%); debt payments inside the tax cap 0.5% of budget (median 1.3%). 93% of debt payments are voter-approved and paid outside the cap.

Why this chance of an override vote

Chance of an override vote: Low (2 pts): limited room under the tax cap (2.69% of max levy, +1); voter-approved debt or capital increase passed since July 2021 (+1).

Context, not scored

Teacher jobs -2.4% last year; enrollment -8% over 5 yrs; tax bill 10.5% of median income (state median 6.4%).

"pts" are points toward the chance of an override vote. Max levy is the most the town can raise without a vote under Prop 2½. See how the budget grade works.

See this town in the full data table →

Budget grades and override chances are our own estimates from public data, as of 25 Oct 2026. Check figures with the town and the original source before relying on them. Disclaimer. Spot an error? hello@beforeyoubuyma.com

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