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Find the Massachusetts Town That Fits Your Life

Compare 223 Massachusetts cities and towns plus 18 Boston neighborhoods by public schools, home prices, property taxes, and commute times to Boston — then find the best place to live for your budget and priorities.

Your towns, ranked

241 of 241 communities · sorted by schools, housing cost, then estimated tax bill — commute is not affecting the order until you choose a maximum
1Boxborough
Median est. prices: $950k 4BR house · $720k townhouse · $535k condo · $3,080/mo 3BR rent · 60 min drive
Property tax ≈$14,700/yr on its $950k median · $15.50 per $1,000
Mostly localQuietSpread out
2Westborough
Median est. prices: $950k 4BR house · $720k townhouse · $535k condo · $3,653/mo 3BR rent · 66 min drive · 🚆 76 min rail
Property tax ≈$15,100/yr on its $950k median · $15.93 per $1,000
Gathering placesCultural
3Harvard
Median est. prices: $1.1M 4BR house · $800k townhouse · $590k condo · $3,080/mo 3BR rent · 66 min drive
Property tax ≈$13,800/yr on its $1.1M median · $12.50 per $1,000
Gathering places
4Westford
Median est. prices: $1.1M 4BR house · $800k townhouse · $590k condo · $3,650/mo 3BR rent · 60 min drive
Property tax ≈$14,800/yr on its $1.1M median · $13.47 per $1,000
Family amenitiesCulturalGathering places
5Acton
Median est. prices: $1.1M 4BR house · $800k townhouse · $590k condo · $3,493/mo 3BR rent · 54 min drive · 🚆 58 min rail
Property tax ≈$17,900/yr on its $1.1M median · $16.23 per $1,000
Family amenitiesCulturalGathering places
6Southborough
Median est. prices: $1.25M 4BR house · $900k townhouse · $665k condo · $4,083/mo 3BR rent · 58 min drive · 🚆 60 min rail
Property tax ≈$17,500/yr on its $1.25M median · $14.00 per $1,000
Family amenitiesMostly localQuiet
7Hopkinton
Median est. prices: $1.25M 4BR house · $900k townhouse · $665k condo · $3,880/mo 3BR rent · 62 min drive
Property tax ≈$18,100/yr on its $1.25M median · $14.50 per $1,000
Gathering placesFamily amenitiesCultural

Read next

We work these questions out with the data rather than guessing. The newest study, and the piece underneath each of the themes this site keeps returning to.

The state already grades every district. It costs $950,000 to buy into the top of it.
Families compare districts with Niche grades and US News rankings, all of them commercial and all scored differently. Massachusetts issues its own determination for every district in one line of plain English, free, and it lines up with house prices almost perfectly — $450k at the bottom rung, $1.5M at the top. Of the 25 towns the state says are meeting or exceeding their targets, not one is priced below the statewide median.
7 min read
Test scores tell you who moved in. Growth tells you what the school did.
Massachusetts publishes two figures for every district and buyers read one. Achievement explains just 42% of growth — and the part it misses is almost unrelated to house prices. At every score level, districts differ by up to 18 points on how far they move children.
7 min read
What a top school district actually adds to a house price
Close to Boston, a strong district roughly doubles the price. An hour out, the same tier costs 36% more. Most of what you pay for schools is really proximity.
7 min read
How far you live from Boston barely tells you what a house costs
Distance is supposed to be the master price knob, but commute time explains just 28% of what a house costs. The median is flat across the whole first hour, and at any given commute prices run threefold — Lawrence and Manchester-by-the-Sea are the same 58 minutes from downtown, at $500k and $1.5M. The town decides the price, not the map.
6 min read

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