Best Places02543, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 02543, 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.
02543 ranks 9,732nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 02543
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.
02543's strengths and weaknesses
Where 02543 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Short commute19.0 minutes each way, better than 88% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 02543 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,514 a month, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 27% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 02543
A household needs to earn about $264,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 02543 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $92,606, 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 02543's effective rate of 0.61%, 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 02543
02543 runs older 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 02543.
Who works in 02543, and how
Work in 02543 centers on professional & technical 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 42%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 35%
Life in 02543
The coast is about 0 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 02543, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 02543, month by month
02543 sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 58° | 47° | 37° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 67° | 57° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 02543
The nearest airport, Martha's Vineyard, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 60 miles away.
The best schools in and around 02543
Schools across 02543 average a B+, better than 75% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Chilmark ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
- West Tisbury ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- Tisbury ElementaryB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Morse Pond SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- LawrenceB · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Dartmouth HighA · 68% proficient
- Falmouth HighA · 68% proficient
- Martha's Vineyard Regional HighB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 02543 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
02543 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 02543 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 02543
Is 02543 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 02543 ranks 9,732nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, an educated workforce, and biking, and lowest on an overheated housing market and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 02543 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,035,611. The overall cost of living runs about 28% above the national average. Set against a $92,606 median income, cost of living beats 54% of zip codes.
Is 02543 safe?
02543 is safer than 32% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $374 per resident a year.
Compare 02543 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 02543. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 02543 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.
02543 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 02543: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 02543: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 02543: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 02543: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
02543 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.