Best Places01603, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 01603, 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.
01603 ranks 16,543rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 01603
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.
01603's strengths and weaknesses
Where 01603 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 91% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 01603 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,648 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 01603
A household needs to earn about $94,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 01603 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $65,750, 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 01603's effective rate of 1.25%, 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 01603
01603 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 01603.
Who works in 01603, and how
Work in 01603 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in 01603
01603 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 97% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 01603 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 01603, month by month
01603 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 01603
The nearest airport, Worcester Regional, is about 2 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 43 miles away.
The best schools in and around 01603
Schools across 01603 average a C, better than 30% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Swanson Road Intermediate SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Jacob Hiatt MagnetC+ · 37% proficient
- Heard StreetC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Auburn MiddleB · 45% proficient
- Sullivan MiddleD+ · 26% proficient
- Forest Grove MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Auburn Senior HighA− · 65% proficient
- Doherty Memorial HighC+ · 40% proficient
- South High CommunityC · 31% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 01603 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
01603 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 01603 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 01603 suits
Families
Schools land around the 30th percentile and crime safety beats 60%.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 01603
Is 01603 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 01603 ranks 16,543rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, transit, and heat safety, and lowest on childcare costs and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 01603 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $338,281. The overall cost of living runs about 12% above the national average. Set against a $65,750 median income, cost of living beats 11% of zip codes.
Is 01603 safe?
Yes, 01603 is safer than 60% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $273 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 01603?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 37 with lows near 19. That works out to about 78 pleasant days a year, more than 41% of zip codes.
Is 01603 good for families?
Schools beat 30% of zip codes, crime safety beats 60%, and childcare runs $1,648 a month.
Compare 01603 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 01603. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 01603 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.
01603 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 01603: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 01603: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 01603: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 01603: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
01603 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.