Best PlacesBemis, Watertown Town, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Bemis, Watertown Town, 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.
Bemis, Watertown Town ranks 664th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Bemis, Watertown Town
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.
Bemis, Watertown Town's strengths and weaknesses
Where Bemis, Watertown Town ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Household income$134,676 median, better than 87% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
Where Bemis, Watertown Town ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,897 a month, better than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Short commute27.5 minutes each way, better than only 30% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Bemis, Watertown Town
A household needs to earn about $191,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Bemis, Watertown Town home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $134,676, 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 Bemis, Watertown Town's effective rate of 0.78%, 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 Bemis, Watertown Town
Bemis, Watertown Town's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Bemis, Watertown Town.
Who works in Bemis, Watertown Town, and how
Work in Bemis, Watertown Town centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 57%
- Work from home 33%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Bemis, Watertown Town
The coast is about 16 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Bemis, Watertown Town, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Bemis, Watertown Town, month by month
Bemis, Watertown Town sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 30° | 20° |
| April | 62° | 48° | 36° |
| July | 87° | 74° | 62° |
| October | 67° | 54° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Bemis, Watertown Town
General Edward Lawrence Logan International sits about 10 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 Bemis, Watertown Town
Schools across Bemis, Watertown Town average a B, better than 74% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Horace MannA · 63% proficient
- James Russell LowellB · 45% proficient
- Lincoln-eliotB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bigelow MiddleA · 64% proficient
- Watertown MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Newton North HighA+ · 84% proficient
- Watertown HighA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Bemis, Watertown Town school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Bemis, Watertown Town 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 Bemis, Watertown Town against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Bemis, Watertown Town
Is Bemis, Watertown Town a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Bemis, Watertown Town ranks 664th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on health care access, clean air, and an educated workforce, 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 Bemis, Watertown Town expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $734,382. The overall cost of living runs about 32% above the national average. Set against a $134,676 median income, cost of living beats 75% of neighborhoods.
Is Bemis, Watertown Town safe?
Yes, Bemis, Watertown Town is safer than 86% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $251 per resident a year.
Compare Bemis, Watertown Town with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Bemis, Watertown Town. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Bemis, Watertown Town 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.
Bemis, Watertown Town detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Bemis, Watertown Town: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Bemis, Watertown Town: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Bemis, Watertown Town: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Bemis, Watertown Town: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Bemis, Watertown Town 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.