Manchester Essex Regional School District
Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea are one school district, not two that resemble each other. The state reports a single set of figures for them — the same MCAS percentile, the same rank, the same spending per pupil — and the schools below belong to the district rather than to either town. Whatever separates these towns, it is not the district.
A 4BR runs $900k in Essex and $1.5M in Manchester-by-the-Sea — $600k, or 1.67×, for a comparable house in the same school district. That gap buys no difference in the district at all, which makes it about as clean a demonstration as this site has of how much of a house price is the address rather than the schooling.
What the same district costs in each town
The schools column is missing on purpose: it would be the same value repeated. Every town links through to its own full page.
| # | Town | 4BR house | 2BR condo | Tax rate | Est. bill | Commute | Rail |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Essex | $900kT3 | $510k | $13.50T3 | ≈$12,200 | 62 minT4 | None |
| 2 | Manchester-by-the-Sea | $1.5MT4 | $775k | $9.50T1 | ≈$14,300 | 58 minT3 | Rail · 59 min |
How the district performs
| School tier | Tier 2 · strong schools Tier 2 |
| MCAS percentile | 82nd |
| Growth percentile | 52nd |
| Niche district rank | 51st of 236 |
| Graduation rate | 97.4% |
| Pupils | 1,227 |
| Spending per pupil | $27,395 |
| State accountability | Substantial progress toward targets |
The district’s schools
Every school the district runs. Which building a child attends is the district’s business and often follows the town, so this is not a list of choices — it is what the district is.
| School | Grades |
|---|---|
| Manchester Memorial Elementary | PK–5 |
| Essex Elementary | K–5 |
| Manchester Essex Regional Middle School | 6–8 |
Member towns head to head
Read next
Studies from this site that turn on something specific about the Manchester Essex Regional towns — each one says what.
District membership, enrolment and per-pupil spending come from the state’s DESE reports; MCAS and graduation figures are the state’s own. Prices are estimates calibrated to the Zillow Home Value Index and Redfin, and tax bills apply each town’s FY2026 rate to its own median 4BR estimate, so they are indicative rather than an assessment. Data last reviewed — see the methodology.
