Best Places01718, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 01718, 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.
01718 ranks 42nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 01718
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.
01718's strengths and weaknesses
Where 01718 ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Household income$176,822 median, better than 98% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 97% of zip codes
Where 01718 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,897 a month, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Short commute32.9 minutes each way, better than only 17% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 66 pleasant days a year, better than only 17% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 01718
A household needs to earn about $128,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 01718 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $176,822, 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 01718's effective rate of 1.36%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 01718
01718's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 01718.
Who works in 01718, and how
Work in 01718 centers on professional & technical and finance & insurance. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 54%
- Work from home 37%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 01718
The coast is about 36 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 01718, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 01718, month by month
01718 sees roughly 66 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 01718
General Edward Lawrence Logan International sits about 24 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 01718
Schools across 01718 average an A, better than 96% of zip codes.
Top middle schools
- Raymond J Grey Junior HighA+ · 73% proficient
- Littleton Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Acton-boxborough Regional HighA+ · 89% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 01718 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
01718 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 01718 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 01718
Is 01718 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 01718 ranks 42nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on an educated workforce, few empty homes, and high incomes, and lowest on childcare costs and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 01718 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $455,500. The overall cost of living runs about 18% above the national average. Set against a $176,822 median income, cost of living beats 97% of zip codes.
Is 01718 safe?
Yes, 01718 is safer than 96% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $152 per resident a year.
Compare 01718 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 01718. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 01718 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.
01718 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 01718: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 01718: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 01718: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 01718: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
01718 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.