Best Places01604, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 01604, 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.
01604 ranks 14,368th 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 01604
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.
01604's strengths and weaknesses
Where 01604 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 92% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 01604 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,648 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 01604
A household needs to earn about $99,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 01604 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $76,280, 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 01604's effective rate of 1.11%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 01604
01604 runs younger 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 01604.
Who works in 01604, and how
Work in 01604 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 01604
01604 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 79% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 74% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 01604 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 01604, month by month
01604 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 01604
The nearest airport, Worcester Regional, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 40 miles away.
The best schools in and around 01604
Schools across 01604 average a D+, better than 12% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Calvin Coolidge SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Elmwood StreetB · 48% proficient
- Raymond E. Shaw ElementaryB− · 41% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sullivan MiddleD+ · 26% proficient
- Worcester East MiddleF · 11% proficient
Top high schools
- Millbury Junior/senior HighC+ · 37% proficient
- South High CommunityC · 31% proficient
- North HighD · 19% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 01604 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
01604 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 01604 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 01604 suits
Families
Schools land around the 12th percentile and crime safety beats 64%.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 01604
Is 01604 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 01604 ranks 14,368th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, transit, and cell coverage, 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 01604 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $364,206. The overall cost of living runs about 12% above the national average. Set against a $76,280 median income, cost of living beats 24% of zip codes.
Is 01604 safe?
Yes, 01604 is safer than 64% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $268 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 01604?
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 01604 good for families?
Schools beat 12% of zip codes, crime safety beats 64%, and childcare runs $1,648 a month.
Compare 01604 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 01604. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 01604 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.
01604 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 01604: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 01604: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 01604: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 01604: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
01604 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.