Best Places01550, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 01550, 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.
01550 ranks 21,908th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. The schools pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on walkability.
The best neighborhoods in 01550
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.
01550's strengths and weaknesses
Where 01550 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 01550 ranks low
- School gradeD−, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,648 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 17% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 01550
A household needs to earn about $84,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 01550 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $70,627, 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 01550's effective rate of 1.36%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 01550
01550's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 01550.
Who works in 01550, and how
Work in 01550 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 01550
01550 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 94% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 75% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 01550 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 01550, month by month
01550 sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 28° | 19° |
| April | 58° | 46° | 36° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 64° | 53° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 01550
The nearest airport, Worcester Regional, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 35 miles away.
The best schools in and around 01550
Schools across 01550 average a D−, better than 2% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Union SchoolB · 45% proficient
- West StreetD− · 13% proficient
- Charlton StreetD− · 12% proficient
Top middle schools
- Southbridge Middle SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top high schools
- Southbridge AcademyD− · 15% proficient
- Southbridge High SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 01550 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
01550 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 01550 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 01550
Is 01550 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 01550 ranks 21,908th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, heat safety, and big-city access, and lowest on the schools and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 01550 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $298,444. The overall cost of living runs about 7% above the national average. Set against a $70,627 median income, cost of living beats 20% of zip codes.
Is 01550 safe?
Yes, 01550 is safer than 56% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $292 per resident a year.
Compare 01550 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 01550. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 01550 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.
01550 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 01550: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 01550: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 01550: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 01550: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
01550 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.