10 Best and Worst Mass. Towns and Cities for High-tech Companies (Mass High Tech)
By Mass High Tech Staff
The Massachusetts High Technology Council has released its annual list ranking the 351 cities and towns in the commonwealth by their friendliness to high-tech companies.
North Reading topped the list. The top 10 included a few others that might raise an eyebrow, such as Douglas, Gill and Uxbridge.
The high-tech centers of Waltham and Cambridge came in at numbers 239 and 213, respectively.
“This is less about where the tech hot spots are and more about how municipalities are making themselves attractive,” said Chris Anderson, president of the Waltham-based nonprofit lobbying organization. “Our primary mission is public policy that helps the entire state become more competitive in the tech economy. At the community level, what things cities and towns are doing to help advance or thwart economic policy initiatives is equally important.”
Anderson said the key differentiating factor that pushed many communities higher on the rankings was adoption of the state’s Chapter 43d expedited permitting law, which streamlines state and local permitting for companies.
Factors that hurt municipalities included high property taxes, low MCAS scores and lack of college-educated workforce located nearby. Not everything is in the control of city or town government, Anderson said.
However, as Massachusetts’ tech industry expands into the state’s western and central regions, communities that adopt business-friendly policy will be at the head of the line.
Factors used in the rankings have been gleaned from a focus group comprising site selectors, legislators, local officials and technology CEOs, said council vice president Wyndham Lewis.
The best
1 North Reading
2 Shrewsbury
3 Groton
4 Grafton
5 Medway
6 Douglas
7 Boylston
8 Leominster
9 Gill
10 Uxbridge
The worst
341 Tisbury
342 North Adams
343 Swampscott
344 Nantucket
345 Auburn
346 West Springfield
347 Holbrook
348 New Ashford
349 Swansea
350 Seekonk
351 Florida
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