Best Places02553, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 02553, 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.
02553 ranks 7,889th 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 02553
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.
02553's strengths and weaknesses
Where 02553 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 02553 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 12% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 02553
A household needs to earn about $141,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 02553 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $104,464, 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 02553's effective rate of 0.75%, 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 02553
02553 runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 02553.
Who works in 02553, and how
Work in 02553 centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 02553
The coast is about 8 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 02553, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 02553, month by month
02553 sees roughly 97 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 80 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 32° | 25° |
| April | 55° | 47° | 39° |
| July | 80° | 73° | 66° |
| October | 63° | 56° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 02553
The nearest airport, Cape Cod Gateway, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 49 miles away.
The best schools in and around 02553
Schools across 02553 average a B−, better than 55% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Bourne Intermediate SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bourne Middle SchoolC− · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Bourne High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 02553 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
02553 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 02553 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 02553
Is 02553 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 02553 ranks 7,889th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, low crime, and civic engagement, 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 02553 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $544,583. The overall cost of living runs about 9% above the national average. Set against a $104,464 median income, cost of living beats 70% of zip codes.
Is 02553 safe?
Yes, 02553 is safer than 98% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $132 per resident a year.
Compare 02553 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 02553. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 02553 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.
02553 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 02553: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 02553: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 02553: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 02553: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
02553 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.