Best PlacesCollege Heights, Wellesley, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around College Heights, Wellesley, 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.
College Heights, Wellesley ranks 142nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in College Heights, Wellesley
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.
College Heights, Wellesley's strengths and weaknesses
Where College Heights, Wellesley ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Household income$207,411 median, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
Where College Heights, Wellesley ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$2,403 a month, better than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in College Heights, Wellesley
A household needs to earn about $345,000 a year to comfortably buy the median College Heights, Wellesley home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $207,411, 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 College Heights, Wellesley's effective rate of 0.94%, 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 College Heights, Wellesley
College Heights, Wellesley runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for College Heights, Wellesley.
Who works in College Heights, Wellesley, and how
Work in College Heights, Wellesley centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 43%
- Work from home 27%
- Transit, walk, or bike 30%
Life in College Heights, Wellesley
College Heights, Wellesley has more restaurants and bars per resident than 73% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 86% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 24 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of College Heights, Wellesley and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in College Heights, Wellesley, month by month
College Heights, Wellesley sees roughly 60 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 32° | 22° |
| April | 63° | 50° | 38° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 62° |
| October | 69° | 56° | 42° |
Flying in and out of College Heights, Wellesley
General Edward Lawrence Logan International sits about 16 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 College Heights, Wellesley
Schools across College Heights, Wellesley average an A+, better than 99% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- HunnewellA+ · 80% proficient
- John D HardyA · 70% proficient
- Katharine Lee BatesA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wellesley MiddleA · 66% proficient
Top high schools
- Wellesley Sr HighA+ · 91% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every College Heights, Wellesley school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
College Heights, Wellesley 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 College Heights, Wellesley against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in College Heights, Wellesley
Is College Heights, Wellesley a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, College Heights, Wellesley ranks 142nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on tree cover, good schools, and an educated workforce, and lowest on cell coverage and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is College Heights, Wellesley expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,294,032. The overall cost of living runs about 58% above the national average. Set against a $207,411 median income, cost of living beats 90% of neighborhoods.
Is College Heights, Wellesley safe?
Yes, College Heights, Wellesley is safer than 84% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $333 per resident a year.
Compare College Heights, Wellesley with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to College Heights, Wellesley. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in College Heights, Wellesley 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.
College Heights, Wellesley detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for College Heights, Wellesley: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in College Heights, Wellesley: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of College Heights, Wellesley: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in College Heights, Wellesley: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
College Heights, Wellesley 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.