Best PlacesBristol County, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Bristol County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Bristol County ranks 484th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $97,056, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are childcare costs, noise, and an overheated housing market.
The best neighborhoods in Bristol County
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.
The best areas in Bristol County
The parts of Bristol County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Attleboro, North Attleboro & Mansfield
Local pay stretches further, more adults hold degrees, and incomes run higher.
Swansea, Seekonk & Rehoboth
Schools score higher.
Taunton & North Easton
Tree cover is thicker, though streets are more car-dependent.
Westport & North Westport
Fewer households have young kids and more homes sit empty.
Acushnet, East Freetown & East Taunton
More residents vote, though biking is worse.
Fall River
Transit reaches more jobs.
New Bedford
Prices have run up more and crime runs higher.
Bristol County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 6% of the country and others in the top 2%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Bristol County's strengths and weaknesses
Bristol County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Few empty homes, big-city access, and low crime carry most of that.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. Noise and an overheated housing market also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Bristol County ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of counties
- TransitBetter than 94% of counties
Where Bristol County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,514 a month, better than only 2% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 10% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 10% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 22% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Bristol County
A household needs to earn about $124,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Bristol County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $97,056, 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 Bristol County's effective rate of 1.04%, 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 Bristol County
Bristol County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Bristol County.
Who works in Bristol County, and how
Work in Bristol County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Bristol County
Bristol County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 88% of counties and more parkland per resident than 69% of counties. The coast is about 22 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Bristol County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Bristol County growing, and who is moving in?
Bristol County has grown about 6% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Boston, MA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Bristol County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Bristol County, month by month
Bristol County sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 23° |
| April | 60° | 48° | 37° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 63° |
| October | 68° | 56° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Bristol County
The nearest airport, Rhode Island Tf Green International, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 40 miles away.
The best schools in and around Bristol County
Schools across Bristol County average a C+, better than 51% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Mildred Aitken SchoolA · 66% proficient
- FallsA · 65% proficient
- Roosevelt AvenueA− · 62% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Cumberland MiddleA+ · 69% proficient
- Old HammondtownA · 67% proficient
- Barrington Middle SchoolA · 64% proficient
Top high schools
- Dighton-rehoboth Regional High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Mansfield HighA · 72% proficient
- Oliver Ames HighA · 71% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Bristol County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Bristol County 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 Bristol County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Bristol County suits
Families
Schools land around the 51st percentile and crime safety beats 96%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 77% of counties and 11% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Bristol County
Is Bristol County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Bristol County ranks 484th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on few empty homes, big-city access, and low crime, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Bristol County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $458,043. The overall cost of living runs about 5% above the national average. Set against a $97,056 median income, cost of living beats 77% of counties.
Is Bristol County safe?
Yes, Bristol County is safer than 96% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $207 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Bristol County?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 23. That works out to about 73 pleasant days a year, more than 27% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Bristol County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Attleboro, North Attleboro & Mansfield, Swansea, Seekonk & Rehoboth, and Taunton & North Easton. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Bristol County good for families?
Schools beat 51% of counties, crime safety beats 96%, and childcare runs $1,514 a month.
Is Bristol County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 77% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 57% of counties. About 11% of workers already work from home.
Compare Bristol County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Bristol County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Bristol County 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.
Bristol County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Bristol County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Bristol County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Bristol County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Bristol County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Bristol County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.