Best PlacesNorth Waltham, Waltham, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Waltham, Waltham, 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.
North Waltham, Waltham ranks 811th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in North Waltham, Waltham
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 Waltham, Waltham's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Waltham, Waltham ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Household income$147,419 median, better than 90% of neighborhoods
Where North Waltham, Waltham ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,897 a month, better than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in North Waltham, Waltham
A household needs to earn about $194,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Waltham, Waltham home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $147,419, 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 Waltham, Waltham's effective rate of 0.69%, 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 Waltham, Waltham
North Waltham, Waltham runs older 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 Waltham, Waltham.
Who works in North Waltham, Waltham, and how
Work in North Waltham, Waltham centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in North Waltham, Waltham
North Waltham, Waltham has more parkland per resident than 86% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 20 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of North Waltham, Waltham and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Waltham, Waltham, month by month
North Waltham, Waltham sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 30° | 20° |
| April | 62° | 48° | 36° |
| July | 87° | 74° | 62° |
| October | 67° | 54° | 42° |
Flying in and out of North Waltham, Waltham
General Edward Lawrence Logan International sits about 12 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 Waltham, Waltham
Schools across North Waltham, Waltham average a C+, better than 56% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Douglas Macarthur Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Northeast Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- John F Kennedy MiddleB · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Waltham Sr HighB · 46% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Waltham, Waltham school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Waltham, Waltham 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 Waltham, Waltham against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in North Waltham, Waltham
Is North Waltham, Waltham a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Waltham, Waltham ranks 811th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low crime, tree cover, and health care access, and lowest on childcare costs and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Waltham, Waltham expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $754,562. The overall cost of living runs about 28% above the national average. Set against a $147,419 median income, cost of living beats 84% of neighborhoods.
Is North Waltham, Waltham safe?
Yes, North Waltham, Waltham is safer than 98% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $158 per resident a year.
Compare North Waltham, Waltham with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Waltham, Waltham. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Waltham, Waltham 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 Waltham, Waltham detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Waltham, Waltham: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Waltham, Waltham: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Waltham, Waltham: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Waltham, Waltham: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Waltham, Waltham 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.