Best Places01151, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 01151, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
01151 ranks 22,557th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 01151
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.
01151's strengths and weaknesses
Where 01151 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 95% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 83% of zip codes
Where 01151 ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 01151
A household needs to earn about $69,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 01151 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $55,355, 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 01151's effective rate of 1.31%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 01151
01151 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 01151.
Who works in 01151, and how
Work in 01151 centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 01151
01151 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 84% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 01151 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 01151, month by month
01151 sees roughly 65 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 | 62° | 48° | 35° |
| July | 88° | 74° | 61° |
| October | 68° | 53° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 01151
Bradley International sits about 18 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 01151
Schools across 01151 average a C−, better than 24% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Indian Orchard ElementaryD · 16% proficient
- Springfield Public Day Elementary SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chestnut Accelerated Middle School (talented And Gifted)C+ · 37% proficient
- Paul R Baird MiddleD+ · 24% proficient
- John F Kennedy MiddleF · 7% proficient
Top high schools
- Ludlow Senior HighA− · 64% proficient
- Springfield Public Day High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 01151 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
01151 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 01151 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 01151
Is 01151 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 01151 ranks 22,557th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, walkability, and biking, 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 01151 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $246,661. The overall cost of living runs about 4% above the national average. Set against a $55,355 median income, cost of living beats 6% of zip codes.
Is 01151 safe?
Yes, 01151 is safer than 59% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $280 per resident a year.
Compare 01151 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 01151. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 01151 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.
01151 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 01151: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 01151: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 01151: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 01151: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
01151 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.