Best PlacesMassachusetts Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Massachusetts, 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.
Massachusetts ranks 2nd of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. The coast is about 28 minutes away. Its strengths are high incomes and an educated workforce. The cost shows up in childcare costs, noise, and long commutes.
The best neighborhoods in Massachusetts
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 Massachusetts
The counties of Massachusetts, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
Suffolk County & Norfolk County
Streets are more walkable, more adults hold degrees, and biking is better.
Middlesex County
Incomes run higher, though homes cost more.
Bristol County
Tree cover is thicker, though transit reaches fewer jobs.
Essex County
Scores close to Bristol County, except that local pay stretches less far here.
Worcester County & Hampshire County
Scores close to Essex County, except that commutes are shorter here.
Plymouth County & Barnstable County
More homes sit empty and prices have run up more.
Berkshire County & Franklin County
It is quieter, though big-city amenities are further off.
Hampden County
More households have young kids, though health outcomes score lower.
Massachusetts shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 2% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Massachusetts' strengths and weaknesses
Massachusetts ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. High incomes is the standout, in the top 3% of states. An educated workforce and health care access follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. Noise and long commutes also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Massachusetts ranks high
- Household income$118,086 median, better than 97% of states
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of states
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of states
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of states
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of states
Where Massachusetts ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,830 a month, better than only 1% of states
- QuietBetter than only 3% of states
- Short commute29.1 minutes each way, better than only 7% of states
- Local economyBetter than only 12% of states
- Internet speedBetter than only 16% of states
What it costs to buy a home in Massachusetts
A household needs to earn about $169,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Massachusetts home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $118,086, 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 Massachusetts' effective rate of 1.03%, 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 Massachusetts
Massachusetts'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 Massachusetts.
Who works in Massachusetts, and how
Work in Massachusetts centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 68%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in Massachusetts
Massachusetts has more restaurants and bars per resident than 71% of states and less late-night activity than most states. Massachusetts has 192 miles of ocean coastline. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Massachusetts and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Massachusetts, month by month
Massachusetts 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° |
The best schools in and around Massachusetts
Schools across Massachusetts average a B−, better than 67% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Albert S. Woodward Memorial SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Hildreth Elementary SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Winn BrookA+ · 83% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wm Diamond MiddleA+ · 78% proficient
- Weston MiddleA+ · 76% proficient
- Jonas Clarke MiddleA+ · 74% proficient
Top high schools
- Dover-sherborn Regional HighA+ · 94% proficient
- Lexington HighA+ · 92% proficient
- Wellesley Sr HighA+ · 91% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Massachusetts school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts against the other 49 states.
Who Massachusetts suits
Common questions about living in Massachusetts
Is Massachusetts a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Massachusetts ranks 2nd of 50 states. It scores highest on high incomes, an educated workforce, and health care access, 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 Massachusetts expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $625,556. The overall cost of living runs about 24% above the national average. Set against a $118,086 median income, cost of living beats 61% of states.
Is Massachusetts safe?
Yes, Massachusetts is safer than 93% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $227 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Massachusetts?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 42 with lows near 25. That works out to about 70 pleasant days a year, more than 17% of states.
What are the best areas in Massachusetts?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Suffolk County & Norfolk County, Middlesex County, and Bristol County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Massachusetts good for families?
Schools beat 67% of states, crime safety beats 93%, and childcare runs $1,830 a month.
Is Massachusetts good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 61% of states, though advertised internet speeds beat only 16% of states. About 18% of workers already work from home.
Compare Massachusetts with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Massachusetts. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Massachusetts 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.
Massachusetts detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Massachusetts: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Massachusetts: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Massachusetts: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Massachusetts: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Massachusetts 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.
- 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.