Best PlacesAvon Hill, Cambridge, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Avon Hill, Cambridge, 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.
Avon Hill, Cambridge ranks 171st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Avon Hill, Cambridge
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.
Avon Hill, Cambridge's strengths and weaknesses
Where Avon Hill, Cambridge ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
Where Avon Hill, Cambridge ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,897 a month, better than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 70 pleasant days a year, better than only 25% of neighborhoods
- Short commute28.1 minutes each way, better than only 27% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 38% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Avon Hill, Cambridge
A household needs to earn about $320,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Avon Hill, Cambridge home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $147,550, 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 Avon Hill, Cambridge's effective rate of 0.46%, 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 Avon Hill, Cambridge
Avon Hill, Cambridge 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 Avon Hill, Cambridge.
Who works in Avon Hill, Cambridge, and how
Work in Avon Hill, Cambridge centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 24%
- Work from home 35%
- Transit, walk, or bike 41%
Life in Avon Hill, Cambridge
The coast is about 12 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Avon Hill, Cambridge, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Avon Hill, Cambridge, month by month
Avon Hill, Cambridge 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 Avon Hill, Cambridge
General Edward Lawrence Logan International sits about 6 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 Avon Hill, Cambridge
Schools across Avon Hill, Cambridge average a B+, better than 79% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- John F KennedyA− · 57% proficient
- Amigos SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Graham And ParksB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Putnam Avenue Upper SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Cambridge Rindge And LatinA− · 65% proficient
- Somerville HighB+ · 51% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Avon Hill, Cambridge school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Avon Hill, Cambridge 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 Avon Hill, Cambridge against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Avon Hill, Cambridge
Is Avon Hill, Cambridge a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Avon Hill, Cambridge ranks 171st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on biking, an educated workforce, and walkability, and lowest on childcare costs and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Avon Hill, Cambridge expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,284,921. The overall cost of living runs about 67% above the national average. Set against a $147,550 median income, cost of living beats 67% of neighborhoods.
Is Avon Hill, Cambridge safe?
Yes, Avon Hill, Cambridge is safer than 71% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $326 per resident a year.
Compare Avon Hill, Cambridge with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Avon Hill, Cambridge. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Avon Hill, Cambridge 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.
Avon Hill, Cambridge detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Avon Hill, Cambridge: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Avon Hill, Cambridge: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Avon Hill, Cambridge: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Avon Hill, Cambridge: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Avon Hill, Cambridge 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.