Best PlacesWest Townsend, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Townsend, 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.
West Townsend ranks 3,928th of 50,333 U.S. towns 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 West Townsend
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.
West Townsend's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Townsend ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of towns
- Household income$135,344 median, better than 96% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 93% of towns
Where West Townsend ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,855 a month, better than only 1% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 8% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 14% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of towns
- Short commute33.6 minutes each way, better than only 18% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Townsend
A household needs to earn about $120,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Townsend home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $135,344, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 West Townsend's effective rate of 1.31%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in West Townsend
West Townsend runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West Townsend.
Who works in West Townsend, and how
Work in West Townsend centers on retail trade and construction. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in West Townsend
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across West Townsend.
What the weather is like in West Townsend, month by month
West Townsend sees roughly 67 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 29° | 19° |
| April | 62° | 49° | 36° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 63° |
| October | 67° | 54° | 42° |
Flying in and out of West Townsend
The nearest airport, Manchester Boston Regional, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 43 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Townsend
Schools across West Townsend average a B, better than 73% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Mason Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Turkey Hill Elementary SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Spaulding MemorialB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lunenburg Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Hawthorne BrookB · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Lunenburg HighA · 78% proficient
- North Middlesex RegionalA · 68% proficient
- Mascenic Regional High SchoolB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Townsend school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Townsend 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 West Townsend against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Townsend
Is West Townsend a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Townsend ranks 3,928th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low crime, few empty homes, and high incomes, and lowest on childcare costs and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Townsend expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $430,635. The overall cost of living runs about 19% above the national average. Set against a $135,344 median income, cost of living beats 86% of towns.
Is West Townsend safe?
Yes, West Townsend is safer than 99% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $116 per resident a year.
Compare West Townsend with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Townsend. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Townsend 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.
West Townsend detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Townsend: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Townsend: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Townsend: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Townsend: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Townsend 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.