Best Places01824, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 01824, 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.
01824 ranks 1,931st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 01824
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.
01824's strengths and weaknesses
Where 01824 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Household income$141,927 median, better than 95% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 01824 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,897 a month, better than only 2% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 15% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 01824
A household needs to earn about $171,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 01824 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $141,927, 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 01824's effective rate of 1.33%, 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 01824
01824 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 01824.
Who works in 01824, and how
Work in 01824 centers on manufacturing and professional & technical. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 01824
The coast is about 32 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 01824, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 01824, month by month
01824 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 01824
The nearest airport, Manchester Boston Regional, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 24 miles away.
The best schools in and around 01824
Schools across 01824 average an A−, better than 87% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Byam SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Center Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- South RowB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mccarthy Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Col Moses Parker SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Chelmsford HighA · 78% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 01824 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
01824 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 01824 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 01824 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 25% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 01824
Is 01824 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 01824 ranks 1,931st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, low crime, and clean air, 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 01824 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $611,755. The overall cost of living runs about 23% above the national average. Set against a $141,927 median income, cost of living beats 88% of zip codes.
Is 01824 safe?
Yes, 01824 is safer than 96% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $163 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 01824?
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 15% of zip codes.
Is 01824 good for families?
Schools beat 87% of zip codes, crime safety beats 96%, and childcare runs $1,897 a month.
Compare 01824 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 01824. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 01824 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.
01824 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 01824: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 01824: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 01824: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 01824: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
01824 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.