Worcester / Paxton
Paxton is about 7 miles from the Census center point for Worcester in a straight line and covers 14.689 square miles of land (Census 2024 Gazetteer internal points and land area, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/, checked 2026-10-19).
Paxton has 5,002 residents (give or take 20) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=060XX00US2502752420, checked 2026-10-19), about 341 people per square mile.
The quote form takes a ZIP code; for Paxton that is 01612 (Census 2020 ZCTA to county subdivision and ZCTA to place relationship files, ZIP areas at least 20% inside the town, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_cousub20_natl.txt and https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_place20_natl.txt, checked 2026-10-19).
Paxton is spread out at 341 people per square mile across 14.689 square miles of land, so a long refrigerant line run between the outdoor unit and the farthest indoor head is the sizing question an installer checks first.
Of the 1,720 occupied homes in Paxton, 4% heat with natural gas, 68% with heating oil, 12% with electricity and 12% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=060XX00US2502752420, checked 2026-10-19).
Paxton has 30 points more oil heat than Worcester County as a whole, where 38% of homes burn oil, and 8 points less electric heat than the county's 20% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US25027, checked 2026-10-19).
Heating oil is the largest single fuel in Paxton at 68%, ahead of electricity at 12%, so the usual job here is an oil boiler or furnace coming out and a cold-climate heat pump going in, with the oil tank removed.
The median Paxton home was built in 1967 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=060XX00US2502752420, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 7.4 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=060XX00US2502752420, checked 2026-10-19).
Paxton has 1,753 housing units, 10% built before 1940 and 67% before 1980, with 15% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=060XX00US2502752420, checked 2026-10-19).
Paxton has 17 points fewer pre-1940 homes than Worcester County as a whole (27%) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US25027, checked 2026-10-19).
67% of Paxton homes were built before 1980 and only 15% in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=060XX00US2502752420, checked 2026-10-19), so most of the stock predates modern insulation codes; the installer's heat-loss calculation, not a square-footage rule, decides the tonnage.
89% of Paxton homes are single-family detached, 7% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 1% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=060XX00US2502752420, checked 2026-10-19).
With 89% detached houses and 7% in small multi-family buildings, a Paxton quote is usually one or two outdoor units with ducted or ductless heads sized room by room. With 8% of Paxton homes rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=060XX00US2502752420, checked 2026-10-19), the landlord signs the quote in many of them.
Paxton has 32 points more detached houses than Worcester County overall (57%) and 16 points fewer five-plus-unit buildings than the county's 17% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US25027, checked 2026-10-19).
Only 8% of Paxton homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=060XX00US2502752420, checked 2026-10-19), so nearly every quote here is the resident talking to the installer directly, and the rebate goes to the person living in the house.
Paxton is also on the state table of towns served by a municipal light plant, Paxton Municipal Light Department (Massachusetts municipally-owned electric companies, https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-municipally-owned-electric-companies, checked 2026-10-19).
Mass Save heat pump rebates are for electric accounts with Cape Light Compact, Eversource, National Grid or Unitil, so a Paxton home billed by Paxton Municipal Light Department asks the plant for its heat pump rebate instead.
Mass Save whole-home heat pump rebate, run by Mass Save, is a live program for Massachusetts addresses and publishes its terms without one headline figure (registry row 1 verified 2026-10-14, https://www.masssave.com/residential/rebates-and-incentives/heating-and-cooling/heat-pumps, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the Paxton address before counting it. With 12% of Paxton homes already on electric heat and 84% on gas, oil or propane, the row that applies depends on the name on the electric bill and the fuel coming out.
Median household income in Paxton is $134,083 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=060XX00US2502752420, checked 2026-10-19); many state and utility heat pump rebate programs set higher incentive tiers for income-qualifying households, so the household income on the application, not the town median, decides which level applies.
Heating design temperature: -2F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Worcester County row, 99% heating, PDF page 56 of 141 (Revised 11/11/2020), https://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/Design%20Temperature%20Limit%20Reference%20Guide%20(2019%20Ed)%20-%20ENERGY%20STAR%20Single-Family%20New%20Homes_Rev11.pdf, fetched 2026-10-19, 99%.
That -2F figure is the Worcester County cold-day number a Paxton heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at -2F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask what happens to the oil tank, since 68% of the 1,720 occupied Paxton homes have one and removal is usually a separate line on the quote.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median Paxton home has 7.4 rooms and was built around 1967, and the count of heads and the tonnage follow the rooms and the insulation, not the square footage.
The form on this page is the follow-up for Paxton. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Paxton yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.