Best PlacesDorchester Center, Boston, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Dorchester Center, Boston, 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.
Dorchester Center, Boston ranks 4,281st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Dorchester Center, Boston
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.
Dorchester Center, Boston's strengths and weaknesses
Where Dorchester Center, Boston ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 77% of neighborhoods
Where Dorchester Center, Boston ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,304 a month, better than only 2% of neighborhoods
- School gradeF, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Short commute35.4 minutes each way, better than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Dorchester Center, Boston
A household needs to earn about $153,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Dorchester Center, Boston home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $75,171, 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 Dorchester Center, Boston's effective rate of 0.49%, 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 Dorchester Center, Boston
Dorchester Center, Boston runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Dorchester Center, Boston.
Who works in Dorchester Center, Boston, and how
Work in Dorchester Center, Boston centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 50%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 34%
Life in Dorchester Center, Boston
The coast is about 13 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Dorchester Center, Boston, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Dorchester Center, Boston, month by month
Dorchester Center, Boston 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 Dorchester Center, Boston
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 Dorchester Center, Boston
Schools across Dorchester Center, Boston average an F, better than 5% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Lee AcademyD− · 16% proficient
- Lee K-8 SchoolD− · 12% proficient
- Holmes Elementary SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top high schools
- Burke High SchoolF · 10% proficient
- Boston International High School & Newcomers AcademyF · 8% proficient
- Techboston AcademyF · 7% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Dorchester Center, Boston school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Dorchester Center, Boston 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 Dorchester Center, Boston against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Dorchester Center, Boston
Is Dorchester Center, Boston a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Dorchester Center, Boston ranks 4,281st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low property taxes, clean air, and transit, and lowest on childcare costs and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Dorchester Center, Boston expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $610,733. The overall cost of living runs about 32% above the national average. Set against a $75,171 median income, cost of living beats 16% of neighborhoods.
Is Dorchester Center, Boston safe?
Yes, Dorchester Center, Boston is safer than 57% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $412 per resident a year.
Compare Dorchester Center, Boston with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Dorchester Center, Boston. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Dorchester Center, Boston 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.
Dorchester Center, Boston detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Dorchester Center, Boston: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Dorchester Center, Boston: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Dorchester Center, Boston: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Dorchester Center, Boston: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Dorchester Center, Boston 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.