Best PlacesDowntown Crossing, Boston, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown Crossing, Boston, 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.
Downtown Crossing, Boston ranks 428th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown Crossing, 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.
Downtown Crossing, Boston's strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown Crossing, Boston ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Household income$167,679 median, better than 95% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown Crossing, Boston ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,304 a month, better than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 24% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown Crossing, Boston
A household needs to earn about $344,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown Crossing, Boston home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $167,679, 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 Downtown Crossing, Boston's effective rate of 0.70%, 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 Downtown Crossing, Boston
Downtown Crossing, Boston'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 Downtown Crossing, Boston.
Who works in Downtown Crossing, Boston, and how
Work in Downtown Crossing, Boston centers on professional & technical and finance & insurance. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 14%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 57%
Life in Downtown Crossing, Boston
Downtown Crossing, Boston has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 82% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 7 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Downtown Crossing, Boston and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown Crossing, Boston, month by month
Downtown Crossing, 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 Downtown Crossing, Boston
General Edward Lawrence Logan International sits about 3 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 Downtown Crossing, Boston
Schools across Downtown Crossing, Boston average a B−, better than 69% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Eliot K-8 Innovation SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Quincy Elementary SchoolB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Quincy Upper SchoolD · 18% proficient
- Snowden International High SchoolD · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown Crossing, Boston school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown Crossing, 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 Downtown Crossing, Boston against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown Crossing, Boston
Is Downtown Crossing, Boston a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown Crossing, Boston ranks 428th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on walkability, transit, and cell coverage, and lowest on childcare costs and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown Crossing, Boston expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,333,630. The overall cost of living runs about 95% above the national average. Set against a $167,679 median income, cost of living beats 71% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown Crossing, Boston safe?
Downtown Crossing, Boston is safer than 37% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $685 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown Crossing, Boston with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown Crossing, Boston. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown Crossing, 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.
Downtown Crossing, Boston detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown Crossing, Boston: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown Crossing, Boston: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown Crossing, Boston: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown Crossing, Boston: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown Crossing, 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.