Best PlacesTufts, Somerville, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Tufts, Somerville, 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.
Tufts, Somerville ranks 306th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Tufts, Somerville
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.
Tufts, Somerville's strengths and weaknesses
Where Tufts, Somerville ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Household income$170,858 median, better than 95% of neighborhoods
Where Tufts, Somerville ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,897 a month, better than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 24% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 70 pleasant days a year, better than only 26% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 28% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Tufts, Somerville
A household needs to earn about $261,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Tufts, Somerville home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $170,858, 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 Tufts, Somerville's effective rate of 0.80%, 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 Tufts, Somerville
Tufts, Somerville runs younger than the country, 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 Tufts, Somerville.
Who works in Tufts, Somerville, and how
Work in Tufts, Somerville centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 27%
- Work from home 27%
- Transit, walk, or bike 45%
Life in Tufts, Somerville
The coast is about 11 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Tufts, Somerville, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Tufts, Somerville, month by month
Tufts, Somerville 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 Tufts, Somerville
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 Tufts, Somerville
Schools across Tufts, Somerville average a C+, better than 50% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- West Somerville NeighborhoodC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Somerville HighB+ · 51% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Tufts, Somerville school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Tufts, Somerville 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 Tufts, Somerville against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Tufts, Somerville
Is Tufts, Somerville a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Tufts, Somerville ranks 306th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on population health, few empty homes, and an educated workforce, and lowest on childcare costs and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Tufts, Somerville expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $996,897. The overall cost of living runs about 42% above the national average. Set against a $170,858 median income, cost of living beats 82% of neighborhoods.
Is Tufts, Somerville safe?
Yes, Tufts, Somerville is safer than 79% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $294 per resident a year.
Compare Tufts, Somerville with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Tufts, Somerville. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Tufts, Somerville 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.
Tufts, Somerville detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Tufts, Somerville: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Tufts, Somerville: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Tufts, Somerville: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Tufts, Somerville: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Tufts, Somerville 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.