Best PlacesNorth Brookline, Brookline, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Brookline, Brookline, 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.
North Brookline, Brookline ranks 239th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in North Brookline, Brookline
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.
North Brookline, Brookline's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Brookline, Brookline ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA, better than 97% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
Where North Brookline, Brookline ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,403 a month, better than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 70 pleasant days a year, better than only 26% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 27% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 32% of neighborhoods
- Short commute27.0 minutes each way, better than only 33% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in North Brookline, Brookline
A household needs to earn about $391,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Brookline, Brookline home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $141,632, 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 North Brookline, Brookline's effective rate of 0.92%, 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 North Brookline, Brookline
North Brookline, Brookline runs younger than the country, 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 North Brookline, Brookline.
Who works in North Brookline, Brookline, and how
Work in North Brookline, Brookline centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 28%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 52%
Life in North Brookline, Brookline
North Brookline, Brookline has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 10 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of North Brookline, Brookline and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Brookline, Brookline, month by month
North Brookline, Brookline 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 North Brookline, Brookline
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 North Brookline, Brookline
Schools across North Brookline, Brookline average an A, better than 97% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- LawrenceA · 71% proficient
- Florida Ruffin Ridley SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- MorseB · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Brookline HighA+ · 81% proficient
- Boston Latin SchoolA · 77% proficient
- Brighton High SchoolF · 5% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Brookline, Brookline school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Brookline, Brookline 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 North Brookline, Brookline against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in North Brookline, Brookline
Is North Brookline, Brookline a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Brookline, Brookline ranks 239th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on an educated workforce, good schools, and population health, 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 North Brookline, Brookline expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,473,017. The overall cost of living runs about 66% above the national average. Set against a $141,632 median income, cost of living beats 61% of neighborhoods.
Is North Brookline, Brookline safe?
Yes, North Brookline, Brookline is safer than 67% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $373 per resident a year.
Compare North Brookline, Brookline with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Brookline, Brookline. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Brookline, Brookline 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.
North Brookline, Brookline detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Brookline, Brookline: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Brookline, Brookline: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Brookline, Brookline: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Brookline, Brookline: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Brookline, Brookline 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.