Best Places02139, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 02139, 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.
02139 ranks 1,251st 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 02139
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.
02139's strengths and weaknesses
Where 02139 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 98% of zip codes
Where 02139 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,897 a month, better than only 2% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 70 pleasant days a year, better than only 25% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 02139
A household needs to earn about $272,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 02139 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $126,896, 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 02139's effective rate of 0.59%, 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 02139
02139 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 02139.
Who works in 02139, and how
Work in 02139 centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 17%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 54%
Life in 02139
02139 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 79% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 88% of zip codes. The coast is about 10 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 02139 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 02139, month by month
02139 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 02139
General Edward Lawrence Logan International sits about 5 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 02139
Schools across 02139 average a B+, better than 73% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Martin Luther King Jr.A · 65% proficient
- John M TobinA · 63% proficient
- Amigos SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
Top middle schools
- Putnam Avenue Upper SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Cambridge Rindge And LatinA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 02139 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
02139 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 02139 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 02139 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 29% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 02139
Is 02139 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 02139 ranks 1,251st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, population health, and walkability, 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 02139 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,071,061. The overall cost of living runs about 67% above the national average. Set against a $126,896 median income, cost of living beats 42% of zip codes.
Is 02139 safe?
02139 is safer than 34% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $372 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 02139?
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 02139 good for families?
Schools beat 73% of zip codes, crime safety beats 34%, and childcare runs $1,897 a month.
Compare 02139 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 02139. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 02139 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.
02139 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 02139: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 02139: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 02139: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 02139: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
02139 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.