Best PlacesSouth Boston, Boston, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Boston, Boston, 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.
South Boston, Boston ranks 1,717th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. Childcare costs pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on high incomes.
The best neighborhoods in South Boston, Boston
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.
South Boston, Boston's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Boston, Boston ranks high
- Household income$144,996 median, better than 90% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
Where South Boston, Boston ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,304 a month, better than only 2% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- School gradeD−, better than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in South Boston, Boston
A household needs to earn about $261,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Boston, Boston home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $144,996, 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 South Boston, Boston's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 South Boston, Boston
South Boston, Boston 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 South Boston, Boston.
Who works in South Boston, Boston, and how
Work in South Boston, Boston centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 31%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 46%
Life in South Boston, Boston
South Boston, Boston has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 79% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 7 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of South Boston, Boston and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Boston, Boston, month by month
South Boston, Boston 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 South Boston, Boston
General Edward Lawrence Logan International sits about 3 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 South Boston, Boston
Schools across South Boston, Boston average a D−, better than 8% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Eliot K-8 Innovation SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Quincy Elementary SchoolB · 44% proficient
- Clap Elementary SchoolD+ · 22% proficient
Top middle schools
- Up Academy Charter School Of BostonF · 11% proficient
Top high schools
- Quincy Upper SchoolD · 18% proficient
- Dearborn 6-12 Stem AcademyF · 10% proficient
- Excel High SchoolF · 5% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Boston, Boston school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Boston, Boston 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 South Boston, Boston against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who South Boston, Boston suits
Families
Schools land around the 8th percentile and crime safety beats 60%.
Common questions about living in South Boston, Boston
Is South Boston, Boston a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Boston, Boston ranks 1,717th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on high incomes, transit, and heat safety, 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 South Boston, Boston expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,014,861. The overall cost of living runs about 81% above the national average. Set against a $144,996 median income, cost of living beats 59% of neighborhoods.
Is South Boston, Boston safe?
Yes, South Boston, Boston is safer than 60% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $406 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in South Boston, Boston?
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 25% of neighborhoods.
Is South Boston, Boston good for families?
Schools beat 8% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 60%, and childcare runs $2,304 a month.
Compare South Boston, Boston with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Boston, Boston. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Boston, Boston 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.
South Boston, Boston detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Boston, Boston: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Boston, Boston: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Boston, Boston: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Boston, Boston: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Boston, Boston 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.