Best Places01438, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 01438, 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.
01438 ranks 12,984th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 01438
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.
01438's strengths and weaknesses
Where 01438 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Household income$110,789 median, better than 86% of zip codes
Where 01438 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,648 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 11% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 01438
A household needs to earn about $93,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 01438 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $110,789, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 01438's effective rate of 1.23%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 01438
01438 runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share, 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 01438.
Who works in 01438, and how
Work in 01438 centers on admin & support services and hospitality & food. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 67%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 01438
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 01438.
What the weather is like in 01438, month by month
01438 sees roughly 62 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 27° | 17° |
| April | 61° | 46° | 34° |
| July | 87° | 73° | 60° |
| October | 66° | 52° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 01438
The nearest airport, Worcester Regional, is about 22 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 54 miles away.
The best schools in and around 01438
Schools across 01438 average a C, better than 34% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Templeton Elementary SchoolC · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Narragansett Regional HighC+ · 37% proficient
- Gardner HighD · 19% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 01438 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
01438 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 01438 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 01438
Is 01438 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 01438 ranks 12,984th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, health care access, and clean air, 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 01438 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $337,964. The overall cost of living runs about 12% above the national average. Set against a $110,789 median income, cost of living beats 72% of zip codes.
Is 01438 safe?
Yes, 01438 is safer than 83% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $200 per resident a year.
Compare 01438 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 01438. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 01438 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.
01438 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 01438: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 01438: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 01438: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 01438: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
01438 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.