Best Places01701, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 01701, 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.
01701 ranks 2,665th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 01701
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.
01701's strengths and weaknesses
Where 01701 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Household income$143,592 median, better than 95% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 01701 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,897 a month, better than only 2% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 16% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 01701
A household needs to earn about $179,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 01701 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $143,592, 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 01701'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 01701
01701 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 01701.
Who works in 01701, and how
Work in 01701 centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 66%
- Work from home 27%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 01701
01701 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 67% of zip codes. The coast is about 28 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 01701 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 01701, month by month
01701 sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 30° | 20° |
| April | 62° | 48° | 36° |
| July | 87° | 74° | 62° |
| October | 67° | 54° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 01701
General Edward Lawrence Logan International sits about 22 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 21.1 million passengers in 2025, with 199 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 01701
Schools across 01701 average a B−, better than 55% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- HemenwayB+ · 54% proficient
- Potter RoadB− · 40% proficient
- Charlotte A DunningB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Walsh MiddleB · 46% proficient
- Christa Mcauliffe Charter SchoolB− · 39% proficient
- Cameron Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Framingham High SchoolA− · 64% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 01701 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
01701 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 01701 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 01701 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 27% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 01701
Is 01701 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 01701 ranks 2,665th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, high incomes, and health care access, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 01701 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $653,781. The overall cost of living runs about 24% above the national average. Set against a $143,592 median income, cost of living beats 88% of zip codes.
Is 01701 safe?
Yes, 01701 is safer than 85% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $213 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 01701?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 41 with lows near 20. That works out to about 65 pleasant days a year, more than 16% of zip codes.
Is 01701 good for families?
Schools beat 55% of zip codes, crime safety beats 85%, and childcare runs $1,897 a month.
Compare 01701 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 01701. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 01701 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.
01701 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 01701: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 01701: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 01701: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 01701: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
01701 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.