Best PlacesLowell, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Lowell, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Distance to the water drives a lot of the difference between one part and the next. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Lowell ranks 205th of 445 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. The coast is about 32 minutes away. Its strengths are clean air and low crime. The cost shows up in childcare costs, the weather, and an overheated housing market.
The best neighborhoods in Lowell
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 Lowell
The parts of Lowell, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the city.
Belvidere
More adults hold degrees, more residents vote, and local pay stretches further.
Highlands
Incomes run higher, though streets are more car-dependent.
Pawtucketville
Tree cover is thicker, though fewer households have young kids.
South Lowell
Prices have run up less, though it is noisier.
Centralville
Fewer homes sit empty.
Back Central & Downtown Lowell
Biking is better and homes cost less.
The Acre
Health care is harder to reach.
Scores across Lowell run from about the 20th to the 92nd percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Lowell's strengths and weaknesses
Lowell lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Clean air is the standout, in the top 2% of cities. Low crime and walkability follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. The weather and an overheated housing market also cost it ground. Cost swings more from one part of Lowell to another than it does between Lowell and its neighbors, which the map below shows.
Where Lowell ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than 87% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than 86% of cities
Where Lowell ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,897 a month, better than only 5% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 9% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 9% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than only 12% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 12% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Lowell
A household needs to earn about $117,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lowell home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $83,800, 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 Lowell's effective rate of 1.01%, 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 Lowell
Lowell runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Lowell.
Who works in Lowell, and how
Work in Lowell centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Lowell
Lowell has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of cities and more parkland per resident than 88% of cities. The coast is about 32 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Lowell and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Lowell, month by month
Lowell sees roughly 62 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 30° | 21° |
| April | 61° | 48° | 37° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 67° | 55° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Lowell
The nearest airport, Manchester Boston Regional, is about 21 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 25 miles away.
The best schools in and around Lowell
Schools across Lowell average a C−, better than 17% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- HunnewellA+ · 80% proficient
- Center Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Charles D HarringtonB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wellesley MiddleA · 66% proficient
- Mccarthy Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- John F. RyanA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Wellesley Sr HighA+ · 91% proficient
- Chelmsford HighA · 78% proficient
- Tyngsborough High SchoolA · 73% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lowell school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lowell 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 Lowell against the other 444 cities.
Who Lowell suits
Families
Schools land around the 17th percentile and crime safety beats 93%.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Lowell
Is Lowell a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lowell ranks 205th of 445 cities. It scores highest on clean air, low crime, and walkability, 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 Lowell expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $434,410. The overall cost of living runs about 15% above the national average. Set against a $83,800 median income, cost of living beats 13% of cities.
Is Lowell safe?
Yes, Lowell is safer than 93% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $222 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Lowell?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 40 with lows near 21. That works out to about 62 pleasant days a year, more than 9% of cities.
What are the best neighborhoods in Lowell?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Belvidere, Highlands, and Pawtucketville. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Lowell good for families?
Schools beat 17% of cities, crime safety beats 93%, and childcare runs $1,897 a month.
Is Lowell good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 13% of cities, though advertised internet speeds beat only 12% of cities. About 10% of workers already work from home.
Compare Lowell with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lowell. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lowell 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.
Lowell detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lowell: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lowell: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lowell: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lowell: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lowell 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.