Best Places01840, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 01840, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
01840 ranks 25,347th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 01840
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.
01840's strengths and weaknesses
Where 01840 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 01840 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,897 a month, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- School gradeD−, better than only 3% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 01840
A household needs to earn about $131,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 01840 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $45,114, 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 01840's effective rate of 0.91%, 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 01840
01840 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 01840.
Who works in 01840, and how
Work in 01840 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 01840
01840 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of zip codes. The coast is about 23 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 01840 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 01840, month by month
01840 sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 30° | 21° |
| April | 61° | 48° | 37° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 67° | 55° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 01840
The nearest airport, Manchester Boston Regional, is about 21 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 25 miles away.
The best schools in and around 01840
Schools across 01840 average a D−, better than 3% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Emily G WetherbeeD · 18% proficient
- Francis M LeahyF · 9% proficient
- Oliver Elementary SchoolF · 9% proficient
Top middle schools
- Leonard Middle SchoolD− · 16% proficient
- Oliver Middle SchoolF · 12% proficient
Top high schools
- Phoenix Academy Public Charter High School LawrenceD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 01840 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
01840 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 01840 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 01840
Is 01840 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 01840 ranks 25,347th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, cell coverage, and transit, and lowest on childcare costs and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 01840 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $495,187. The overall cost of living runs about 9% above the national average. Set against a $45,114 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 01840 safe?
01840 is safer than 26% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $434 per resident a year.
Compare 01840 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 01840. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 01840 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.
01840 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 01840: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 01840: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 01840: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 01840: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
01840 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.