Best PlacesMilton, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Milton, 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.
Milton ranks 84th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on high incomes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Milton
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.
Milton's strengths and weaknesses
Where Milton ranks high
- Household income$192,481 median, better than 99% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 99% of cities
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of cities
- School gradeA, better than 90% of cities
Where Milton ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,403 a month, better than only 1% of cities
- QuietBetter than only 10% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 11% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than only 12% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 14% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Milton
A household needs to earn about $264,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Milton home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $192,481, 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 Milton's effective rate of 0.95%, 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 Milton
Milton's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Milton.
Who works in Milton, and how
Work in Milton centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 58%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in Milton
Milton has more parkland per resident than 94% of cities. The coast is about 16 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Milton and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Milton, month by month
Milton sees roughly 62 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 Milton
General Edward Lawrence Logan International sits about 8 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 Milton
Schools across Milton average an A, better than 90% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- GloverA · 70% proficient
- CollicotA · 66% proficient
- Cunningham SchoolA · 64% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central MiddleA · 60% proficient
- Charles S Pierce MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- Dedham Middle SchoolB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Milton HighA · 76% proficient
- North Quincy HighA · 71% proficient
- Braintree HighA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Milton school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Milton 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 Milton against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Milton suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of cities and 29% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Milton
Is Milton a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Milton ranks 84th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on high incomes, tree cover, and an educated workforce, 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 Milton expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $991,222. The overall cost of living runs about 41% above the national average. Set against a $192,481 median income, cost of living beats 88% of cities.
Is Milton safe?
Yes, Milton is safer than 83% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $210 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Milton?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 22. That works out to about 62 pleasant days a year, more than 11% of cities.
Is Milton good for families?
Schools beat 90% of cities, crime safety beats 83%, and childcare runs $2,403 a month.
Compare Milton with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Milton. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Milton 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.
Milton detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Milton: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Milton: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Milton: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Milton: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Milton 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.