Best PlacesWaterfront, Boston, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Waterfront, 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.
Waterfront, Boston ranks 1,894th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Waterfront, 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.
Waterfront, Boston's strengths and weaknesses
Where Waterfront, Boston ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- Household income$132,491 median, better than 86% of neighborhoods
Where Waterfront, Boston ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$2,304 a month, better than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Short commute29.5 minutes each way, better than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 70 pleasant days a year, better than only 25% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Waterfront, Boston
A household needs to earn about $225,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Waterfront, Boston home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $132,491, 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 Waterfront, Boston's effective rate of 0.67%, 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 Waterfront, Boston
Waterfront, Boston 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 Waterfront, Boston.
Who works in Waterfront, Boston, and how
Work in Waterfront, Boston 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 42%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 34%
Life in Waterfront, Boston
Waterfront, Boston has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 5 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Waterfront, Boston and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Waterfront, Boston, month by month
Waterfront, 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 Waterfront, Boston
General Edward Lawrence Logan International sits about 2 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 Waterfront, Boston
Schools across Waterfront, Boston average a C−, better than 27% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Eliot K-8 Innovation SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Quincy Elementary SchoolB · 44% proficient
- Harvard-kent Elementary SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top middle schools
- Eugene Wright Science And Technology AcademyD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Chelsea HighD · 21% proficient
- East Boston High SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Quincy Upper SchoolD · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Waterfront, Boston school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Waterfront, 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 Waterfront, Boston against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Waterfront, Boston
Is Waterfront, Boston a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Waterfront, Boston ranks 1,894th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on walkability, clean air, and transit, and lowest on noise and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Waterfront, Boston expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $875,063. The overall cost of living runs about 68% above the national average. Set against a $132,491 median income, cost of living beats 59% of neighborhoods.
Is Waterfront, Boston safe?
Waterfront, Boston is safer than 47% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $539 per resident a year.
Compare Waterfront, Boston with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Waterfront, Boston. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Waterfront, 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.
Waterfront, Boston detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Waterfront, Boston: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Waterfront, Boston: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Waterfront, Boston: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Waterfront, Boston: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Waterfront, 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.