Best Places02492, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 02492, 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.
02492 ranks 72nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 02492
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.
02492's strengths and weaknesses
Where 02492 ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$217,886 median, better than 99% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
Where 02492 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,403 a month, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 27% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 02492
A household needs to earn about $350,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 02492 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $217,886, 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 02492's effective rate of 1.08%, 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 02492
02492 runs older than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 02492.
Who works in 02492, and how
Work in 02492 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 53%
- Work from home 34%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in 02492
02492 has more parkland per resident than 70% of zip codes. The coast is about 24 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 02492 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 02492, month by month
02492 sees roughly 60 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 32° | 22° |
| April | 63° | 50° | 38° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 62° |
| October | 69° | 56° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 02492
General Edward Lawrence Logan International sits about 13 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 02492
Schools across 02492 average an A, better than 96% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- HunnewellA+ · 80% proficient
- ChickeringA+ · 74% proficient
- Joseph E FiskeA+ · 73% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pollard MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
- High Rock SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Wellesley MiddleA · 66% proficient
Top high schools
- Wellesley Sr HighA+ · 91% proficient
- Needham HighA+ · 90% proficient
- Dedham HighA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 02492 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
02492 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 02492 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 02492 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 34% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 02492
Is 02492 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 02492 ranks 72nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on an educated workforce, health care access, and high incomes, and lowest on childcare costs and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 02492 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,291,199. The overall cost of living runs about 40% above the national average. Set against a $217,886 median income, cost of living beats 98% of zip codes.
Is 02492 safe?
Yes, 02492 is safer than 98% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $130 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 02492?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 22. That works out to about 60 pleasant days a year, more than 8% of zip codes.
Is 02492 good for families?
Schools beat 96% of zip codes, crime safety beats 98%, and childcare runs $2,403 a month.
Compare 02492 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 02492. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 02492 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.
02492 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 02492: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 02492: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 02492: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 02492: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
02492 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.