Best Places01749, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 01749, 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.
01749 ranks 5,221st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 01749
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.
01749's strengths and weaknesses
Where 01749 ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Household income$117,817 median, better than 89% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 87% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 01749 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,897 a month, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 14% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Short commute30.9 minutes each way, better than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 01749
A household needs to earn about $139,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 01749 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $117,817, 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 01749's effective rate of 1.22%, 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 01749
01749 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 01749.
Who works in 01749, and how
Work in 01749 centers on professional & technical and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 01749
01749 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 65% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 77% of zip codes. The coast is about 43 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 01749 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 01749, month by month
01749 sees roughly 64 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 01749
The nearest airport, Worcester Regional, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 28 miles away.
The best schools in and around 01749
Schools across 01749 average a C+, better than 45% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Forest Avenue ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
- Mulready ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
- C A FarleyC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- David J. Quinn Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Marlborough HighB− · 43% proficient
- Hudson HighC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 01749 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
01749 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 01749 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 01749 suits
Families
Schools land around the 45th percentile and crime safety beats 86%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 75% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 20% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 01749
Is 01749 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 01749 ranks 5,221st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on clean air, big-city access, and high incomes, and lowest on childcare costs and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 01749 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $502,950. The overall cost of living runs about 18% above the national average. Set against a $117,817 median income, cost of living beats 75% of zip codes.
Is 01749 safe?
Yes, 01749 is safer than 86% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $198 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 01749?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 41 with lows near 20. That works out to about 64 pleasant days a year, more than 14% of zip codes.
Is 01749 good for families?
Schools beat 45% of zip codes, crime safety beats 86%, and childcare runs $1,897 a month.
Compare 01749 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 01749. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 01749 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.
01749 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 01749: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 01749: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 01749: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 01749: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
01749 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.