Best Places02118, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 02118, 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.
02118 ranks 6,222nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 02118
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.
02118's strengths and weaknesses
Where 02118 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 02118 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,304 a month, better than only 1% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 10% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 02118
A household needs to earn about $281,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 02118 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $114,208, 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 02118's effective rate of 0.64%, 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 02118
02118 runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 02118.
Who works in 02118, and how
Work in 02118 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 31%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 47%
Life in 02118
02118 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 67% of zip codes. The coast is about 8 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 02118 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 02118, month by month
02118 sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 32° | 25° |
| April | 60° | 49° | 40° |
| July | 86° | 75° | 67° |
| October | 67° | 57° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 02118
General Edward Lawrence Logan International sits about 4 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 02118
Schools across 02118 average a D, better than 10% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Quincy Elementary SchoolB · 44% proficient
- Clap Elementary SchoolD+ · 22% proficient
- Hurley K-8 SchoolD+ · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- O'bryant School Of Math & ScienceA− · 62% proficient
- Quincy Upper SchoolD · 18% proficient
- Dearborn 6-12 Stem AcademyF · 10% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 02118 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
02118 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 02118 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 02118 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 22% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 02118
Is 02118 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 02118 ranks 6,222nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, walkability, and transit, 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 02118 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,100,186. The overall cost of living runs about 79% above the national average. Set against a $114,208 median income, cost of living beats 25% of zip codes.
Is 02118 safe?
02118 is safer than 26% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $415 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 02118?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 42 with lows near 25. That works out to about 70 pleasant days a year, more than 25% of zip codes.
Is 02118 good for families?
Schools beat 10% of zip codes, crime safety beats 26%, and childcare runs $2,304 a month.
Compare 02118 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 02118. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 02118 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.
02118 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 02118: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 02118: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 02118: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 02118: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
02118 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.