Best Places01609, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 01609, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
01609 ranks 11,275th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 01609
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.
01609's strengths and weaknesses
Where 01609 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 90% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 01609 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,648 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 01609
A household needs to earn about $137,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 01609 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $72,905, 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 01609's effective rate of 1.35%, 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 01609
01609 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 01609.
Who works in 01609, and how
Work in 01609 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 64%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 20%
Life in 01609
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 01609.
What the weather is like in 01609, month by month
01609 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 01609
The nearest airport, Worcester Regional, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 42 miles away.
The best schools in and around 01609
Schools across 01609 average a C, better than 36% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Jacob Hiatt MagnetC+ · 37% proficient
- Nelson PlaceC · 32% proficient
- Elm Park CommunityD · 16% proficient
Top middle schools
- Forest Grove MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Doherty Memorial HighC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 01609 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
01609 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 01609 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 01609 suits
Families
Schools land around the 36th percentile and crime safety beats 73%.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 01609
Is 01609 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 01609 ranks 11,275th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, biking, and transit, 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 01609 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $488,900. The overall cost of living runs about 12% above the national average. Set against a $72,905 median income, cost of living beats 20% of zip codes.
Is 01609 safe?
Yes, 01609 is safer than 73% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $251 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 01609?
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 01609 good for families?
Schools beat 36% of zip codes, crime safety beats 73%, and childcare runs $1,648 a month.
Compare 01609 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 01609. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 01609 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.
01609 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 01609: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 01609: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 01609: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 01609: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
01609 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.