Best Places01240, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 01240, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
01240 ranks 6,030th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 01240
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.
01240's strengths and weaknesses
Where 01240 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Household income$124,378 median, better than 91% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 01240 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,385 a month, better than only 10% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 01240
A household needs to earn about $140,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 01240 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $124,378, 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 01240's effective rate of 0.89%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 01240
01240 runs older 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 01240.
Who works in 01240, and how
Work in 01240 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 01240
01240 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 91% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 01240 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 01240, month by month
01240 sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 25° | 16° |
| April | 58° | 45° | 34° |
| July | 83° | 71° | 59° |
| October | 63° | 51° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 01240
The nearest airport, Albany International, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 42 miles away.
The best schools in and around 01240
Schools across 01240 average a B, better than 65% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Richmond ConsolidatedB+ · 52% proficient
- MorrisB · 50% proficient
- WilliamsB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Theodore Herberg MiddleD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Lenox Memorial HighB+ · 55% proficient
- Pittsfield HighB− · 43% proficient
- Lee Middle/high SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 01240 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
01240 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 01240 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 01240
Is 01240 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 01240 ranks 6,030th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, health care access, and an educated workforce, and lowest on an overheated housing market and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 01240 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $527,489. The overall cost of living runs about 14% above the national average. Set against a $124,378 median income, cost of living beats 84% of zip codes.
Is 01240 safe?
Yes, 01240 is safer than 55% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $297 per resident a year.
Compare 01240 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 01240. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 01240 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.
01240 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 01240: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 01240: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 01240: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 01240: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
01240 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.