Welcome to Melrose

Melrose has a unique neighborhood atmosphere, with a thriving business community, an excellent school system, and a local hospital in addition to numerous healthcare and elder care facilities.

Melrose was ranked as #1 Hottest Zip Code by Realtor.com in 2015 and was in the top 10 in 2016. The city’s quaint downtown is lined with gas lamps and is a truly special destination for dining, shopping, and the arts.

Melrose is a very walkable suburb, located approximately seven miles north of Boston and is situated in the center of the triangle created by Interstates 93, 95 and US Route 1. Although the only highway in Melrose is a tiny part of Route 99, the city has access to many nearby highways including Route 1 in Saugus, Interstate 93 in Stoneham, Massachusetts Route 16 In Everett and Route 128/Interstate 95 in Wakefield. The city is also served by the MBTA. Service includes five bus routes: 106, 131, 132, 136 and 137.

There are three commuter rail stations: Wyoming Hill, Melrose/Cedar Park, and Melrose Highlands. Oak Grove, the northern terminus of the MBTA’s Orange Line subway system, is located in Malden on the Melrose city line. Oak Grove is primarily a park-and-ride station with 788 parking spaces.

A PLACE TO LEARN

The Melrose School district runs several schools including The Franklin Early Childhood Center, five elementary schools (Roosevelt, Lincoln, Winthrop, Hoover, and Horace Mann), Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School (MVMMS), and Melrose High School. The city also has a private elementary school, St. Mary’s, run by one of the city’s Catholic churches of the same name. The Winthrop School is among the average-sized schools in Melrose, with an average three classes per grade, while the Lincoln School has the largest student population of the elementary schools. The Hoover School is second smallest to the Horace Mann School which educates about 270 children per year. The Franklin Early Childhood Center houses preschool, pre-k and multiage programs enrolling about 240 three- to five-year-old learners. MVMMS is a school to about one thousand eleven- through fourteen-year-olds and is the winner of the 2002 Massachusetts Department of Education’s Compass School Award, the 2007 Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s Green School Award (for its use of solar energy), and the 2008 New England League of Middle Schools’ Spotlight School Award.

A PLACE TO GROW

When it comes to Melrose real estate, Victorian single-family homes from the late 1800s dominate.

A PLACE TO CONNECT

Melrose is proud of its cultural facilities, including the 83-year old Melrose Symphony Orchestra, Melrose Massachusetts Television, the very active local cable channel, and its Victorian downtown area that is supported by a Chamber of Commerce and dates to 1900.

A PLACE TO EXPLORE

The City of Melrose official website emphasizes its vital component of the quality of life in their town:

“Ell Pond is a large natural feature in Melrose’s center, trees line Melrose streets and parks and open spaces are dispersed through and around the city. Melrose is the true implementation of the notion of a garden city with a commercial/institutional downtown surrounded by housing of varied densities. In addition, the city is ringed by a “green belt” which includes the Middlesex Fells Reservation to the west, and this belt buffers it from surrounding communities. Melrose’s recreational facilities include two golf courses, Pine Banks Park and Morelli field, a state-of-the-art baseball facility.”