Best Places01611, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 01611, 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.
01611 ranks 2,841st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 01611
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.
01611's strengths and weaknesses
Where 01611 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Household income$133,518 median, better than 93% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 01611 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,648 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 01611
A household needs to earn about $104,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 01611 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $133,518, 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 01611's effective rate of 1.13%, 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 01611
01611 runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 01611.
Who works in 01611, and how
Work in 01611 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 01611
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 01611.
What the weather is like in 01611, month by month
01611 sees roughly 77 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 01611
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 45 miles away.
The best schools in and around 01611
Schools across 01611 average a B−, better than 52% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Swanson Road Intermediate SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Leicester ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Auburn MiddleB · 45% proficient
- Leicester MiddleC+ · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Auburn Senior HighA− · 65% proficient
- Leicester HighB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 01611 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
01611 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 01611 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 01611
Is 01611 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 01611 ranks 2,841st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, high incomes, and big-city access, 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 01611 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $379,444. The overall cost of living runs about 15% above the national average. Set against a $133,518 median income, cost of living beats 86% of zip codes.
Is 01611 safe?
Yes, 01611 is safer than 95% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $156 per resident a year.
Compare 01611 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 01611. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 01611 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.
01611 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 01611: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 01611: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 01611: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 01611: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
01611 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.