Best Places01863, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 01863, 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.
01863 ranks 2,684th 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 01863
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.
01863's strengths and weaknesses
Where 01863 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Household income$134,462 median, better than 93% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 01863 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,897 a month, better than only 2% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 11% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 01863
A household needs to earn about $149,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 01863 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $134,462; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 01863's effective rate of 1.41%, 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 01863
01863 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 01863.
Who works in 01863, and how
Work in 01863 centers on professional & technical and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 01863
The coast is about 34 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 01863, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 01863, month by month
01863 sees roughly 62 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 28° | 18° |
| April | 61° | 48° | 36° |
| July | 87° | 74° | 62° |
| October | 66° | 53° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 01863
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 27 miles away.
The best schools in and around 01863
Schools across 01863 average an A−, better than 83% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Center Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Charles D HarringtonB · 48% proficient
- Tyngsborough ElementaryB− · 44% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mccarthy Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Col Moses Parker SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Tyngsborough MiddleB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Chelmsford HighA · 78% proficient
- Tyngsborough High SchoolA · 73% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 01863 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
01863 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 01863 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 01863
Is 01863 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 01863 ranks 2,684th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, health care access, and low crime, 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 01863 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $526,296. The overall cost of living runs about 19% above the national average. Set against a $134,462 median income, cost of living beats 85% of zip codes.
Is 01863 safe?
Yes, 01863 is safer than 94% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $165 per resident a year.
Compare 01863 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 01863. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 01863 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.
01863 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 01863: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 01863: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 01863: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 01863: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
01863 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.