Best Places01086, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 01086, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
01086 ranks 5,830th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 01086
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
01086's strengths and weaknesses
Where 01086 ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Short commute11.7 minutes each way, better than 99% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 98% of zip codes
Where 01086 ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,385 a month, better than only 10% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 63 pleasant days a year, better than only 12% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 01086
A household needs to earn about $123,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 01086 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $63,750, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 01086's effective rate of 1.41%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 01086
01086 runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 01086.
Who works in 01086, and how
Work in 01086 centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 35%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 60%
Life in 01086
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 01086.
What the weather is like in 01086, month by month
01086 sees roughly 63 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 28° | 18° |
| April | 63° | 48° | 36° |
| July | 88° | 74° | 62° |
| October | 67° | 53° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 01086
Bradley International sits about 14 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 3.3 million passengers in 2025, with 92 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 01086
Schools across 01086 average a B−, better than 58% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- HighlandB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Westfield Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Westfield HighA− · 59% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 01086 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
01086 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 01086 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 01086
Is 01086 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 01086 ranks 5,830th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on population health, low crime, and short commutes, and lowest on civic engagement and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 01086 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $433,300. The overall cost of living runs about 0% above the national average. Set against a $63,750 median income, cost of living beats 7% of zip codes.
Is 01086 safe?
Yes, 01086 is safer than 100% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $118 per resident a year.
Compare 01086 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 01086. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 01086 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
01086 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 01086: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 01086: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 01086: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 01086: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
01086 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.