Commuting to Longwood Medical Area by MBTA
Four major hospitals, two medical schools and tens of thousands of jobs sit in a half-mile of Brookline Avenue — and it is one of the hardest places in Greater Boston to reach by train.
Timetable-based, not distance-modeled. Scheduled MBTA journey time from each town’s best station to Longwood Medical Area, including transfers, for services arriving between 07:00 and 09:30. It is computed from the MBTA’s published timetable, not modeled from distance. It does not include getting to your origin station or the walk at the far end, and it does not cover driving. Only towns with a station appear: 81 of our 223 — and Boston and Brookline contain Longwood Medical Area rather than commuting to it, which is why 79 are ranked below.
How far the network actually gets you
| Journey you will accept | Towns | …with Tier 1–2 schools | …under $900k | Cheapest of them |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Within 30 minutes | 2 | 2 | 0 | Cambridge, $1.7M |
| Within 45 minutes | 10 | 3 | 4 | Chelsea, $650k |
| Within 60 minutes | 26 | 11 | 12 | Chelsea, $650k |
| Within 75 minutes | 46 | 17 | 25 | Lowell, $525k |
10 towns put you in Longwood Medical Area within 45 minutes on a scheduled service, and 3 of those have a Tier 1–2 school district. Push to an hour and it is 26 towns and 11 strong districts. Only 2 manage it in half an hour.
Strong schools within 45 minutes
The list families usually want, and it is short. These are the Tier 1–2 districts with a scheduled journey of 45 minutes or less.
- Newton — 14 min from Chestnut Hill · $1.9M · Tier 1 · tax ≈$18,400
- Cambridge — 26 min from Kendall/MIT · $1.7M · Tier 2 · tax ≈$11,300
- Belmont — 44 min from Belmont · $1.9M · Tier 1 · tax ≈$21,900
The cheapest towns within 45 minutes
Sorted by price rather than speed, because at some point the budget is the binding constraint.
| # | Town | Typical | Fastest | Station | 4BR | Schools | Est. tax bill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 39 min | 34 min | Box District | $650k | Tier 4 | ≈$7,500 |
| 2 | Revere | 40 min | 36 min | Beachmont | $675k | Tier 4 | ≈$6,000 |
| 3 | Malden | 39 min | 36 min | Oak Grove | $700k | Tier 4 | ≈$8,000 |
| 4 | Quincy | 42 min | 36 min | North Quincy | $875k | Tier 3 | ≈$10,300 |
| 5 | Medford | 36 min | 32 min | Wellington | $900k | Tier 3 | ≈$7,800 |
| 6 | Melrose | 44 min | 42 min | Wyoming Hill | $950k | Tier 3 | ≈$10,900 |
| 7 | Somerville | 34 min | 30 min | Assembly | $1.25M | Tier 3 | ≈$11,200 |
| 8 | Cambridge | 26 min | 22 min | Kendall/MIT | $1.7M | Tier 2 | ≈$11,300 |
Every town with an MBTA route to Longwood Medical Area
All 75 towns with regular service, fastest first. “Typical” is the median scheduled journey across peak departures; “fastest” is the quickest single service.
| # | Town | Typical | Fastest | Station | 4BR | Schools | Est. tax bill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newton | 14 min | 13 min | Chestnut Hill | $1.9M | Tier 1 | ≈$18,400 |
| 2 | Cambridge | 26 min | 22 min | Kendall/MIT | $1.7M | Tier 2 | ≈$11,300 |
| 3 | Somerville | 34 min | 30 min | Assembly | $1.25M | Tier 3 | ≈$11,200 |
| 4 | Medford | 36 min | 32 min | Wellington | $900k | Tier 3 | ≈$7,800 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 39 min | 34 min | Box District | $650k | Tier 4 | ≈$7,500 |
| 6 | Malden | 39 min | 36 min | Oak Grove | $700k | Tier 4 | ≈$8,000 |
| 7 | Revere | 40 min | 36 min | Beachmont | $675k | Tier 4 | ≈$6,000 |
| 8 | Quincy | 42 min | 36 min | North Quincy | $875k | Tier 3 | ≈$10,300 |
| 9 | Melrose | 44 min | 42 min | Wyoming Hill | $950k | Tier 3 | ≈$10,900 |
| 10 | Belmont | 44 min | 39 min | Belmont | $1.9M | Tier 1 | ≈$21,900 |
| 11 | Braintree | 48 min | 45 min | Braintree | $875k | Tier 3 | ≈$8,800 |
| 12 | Winchester | 48 min | 42 min | Wedgemere | $1.85M | Tier 1 | ≈$20,500 |
| 13 | Wakefield | 50 min | 48 min | Greenwood | $875k | Tier 3 | ≈$10,300 |
| 14 | Milton | 52 min | 42 min | Milton | $1.35M | Tier 2 | ≈$15,900 |
| 15 | Lynn | 54 min | 49 min | Lynn Interim | $650k | Tier 4 | ≈$6,700 |
| 16 | Dedham | 54 min | 50 min | Endicott | $850k | Tier 3 | ≈$10,500 |
| 17 | Westwood | 54 min | 45 min | Route 128 | $1.4M | Tier 2 | ≈$17,500 |
| 18 | Randolph | 56 min | 53 min | Holbrook/Randolph | $650k | Tier 4 | ≈$7,500 |
| 19 | Weymouth | 56 min | 54 min | Weymouth Landing/East Braintree | $725k | Tier 3 | ≈$7,300 |
| 20 | Woburn | 56 min | 51 min | Anderson/Woburn | $825k | Tier 3 | ≈$7,500 |
| 21 | Swampscott | 56 min | 52 min | Swampscott | $1.05M | Tier 2 | ≈$12,100 |
| 22 | Canton | 58 min | 50 min | Canton Junction | $825k | Tier 3 | ≈$8,000 |
| 23 | Needham | 58 min | 56 min | Hersey | $1.85M | Tier 1 | ≈$20,000 |
| 24 | Sharon | 59 min | 53 min | Sharon | $950k | Tier 2 | ≈$16,600 |
| 25 | Weston | 59 min | 54 min | Kendal Green | $2.9M | Tier 1 | ≈$33,400 |
| 26 | Reading | 60 min | 57 min | Reading | $975k | Tier 2 | ≈$10,700 |
| 27 | Wilmington | 61 min | 55 min | Wilmington | $775k | Tier 3 | ≈$8,800 |
| 28 | Norwood | 61 min | 59 min | Norwood Depot | $800k | Tier 3 | ≈$7,900 |
| 29 | Brockton | 62 min | 59 min | Montello | $550k | Tier 4 | ≈$6,400 |
| 30 | Abington | 63 min | 59 min | Abington | $650k | Tier 3 | ≈$9,100 |
| 31 | Stoughton | 65 min | 60 min | Stoughton | $675k | Tier 3 | ≈$8,000 |
| 32 | Salem | 66 min | 59 min | Salem | $725k | Tier 3 | ≈$7,800 |
| 33 | Waltham | 66 min | 46 min | Waltham | $1M | Tier 3 | ≈$10,300 |
| 34 | Hingham | 66 min | 65 min | West Hingham | $1.65M | Tier 2 | ≈$17,300 |
| 35 | Lincoln | 66 min | 61 min | Lincoln | $2.5M | Tier 1 | ≈$31,300 |
| 36 | Whitman | 67 min | 63 min | Whitman | $600k | Tier 3 | ≈$8,100 |
| 37 | Mansfield | 67 min | 62 min | Mansfield | $775k | Tier 3 | ≈$10,100 |
| 38 | Wellesley | 67 min | 59 min | Wellesley Farms | $2.25M | Tier 1 | ≈$22,900 |
| 39 | Billerica | 68 min | 63 min | North Billerica | $700k | Tier 3 | ≈$8,100 |
| 40 | Beverly | 69 min | 63 min | Beverly | $850k | Tier 3 | ≈$9,200 |
| 41 | Walpole | 70 min | 69 min | Walpole | $875k | Tier 3 | ≈$10,900 |
| 42 | Hanson | 72 min | 68 min | Hanson | $650k | Tier 3 | ≈$9,400 |
| 43 | Natick | 72 min | 61 min | West Natick | $1M | Tier 2 | ≈$12,200 |
| 44 | Concord | 72 min | 67 min | Concord | $2.2M | Tier 1 | ≈$28,600 |
| 45 | Cohasset | 74 min | 73 min | Cohasset | $1.6M | Tier 2 | ≈$19,200 |
| 46 | Lowell | 75 min | 71 min | Lowell | $525k | Tier 4 | ≈$6,000 |
| 47 | Bridgewater | 76 min | 74 min | Bridgewater | $625k | Tier 3 | ≈$7,500 |
| 48 | Attleboro | 77 min | 72 min | Attleboro | $620k | Tier 3 | ≈$7,600 |
| 49 | Hamilton | 77 min | 73 min | Hamilton/Wenham | $950k | Tier 2 | ≈$13,800 |
| 50 | Halifax | 78 min | 73 min | Halifax | $625k | Tier 3 | ≈$9,100 |
| 51 | Norfolk | 78 min | 76 min | Norfolk | $950k | Tier 2 | ≈$14,300 |
| 52 | Acton | 81 min | 63 min | South Acton | $1.1M | Tier 1 | ≈$17,900 |
| 53 | Scituate | 81 min | 80 min | North Scituate | $1.1M | Tier 2 | ≈$12,700 |
| 54 | Framingham | 82 min | 66 min | Framingham | $800k | Tier 3 | ≈$9,500 |
| 55 | Ipswich | 83 min | 79 min | Ipswich | $900k | Tier 3 | ≈$10,400 |
| 56 | Ashland | 84 min | 76 min | Ashland | $850k | Tier 3 | ≈$11,500 |
| 57 | Franklin | 85 min | 83 min | Franklin | $850k | Tier 2 | ≈$9,700 |
| 58 | Manchester-by-the-Sea | 85 min | 82 min | Manchester | $1.5M | Tier 2 | ≈$14,300 |
| 59 | Lawrence | 86 min | 81 min | Lawrence | $500k | Tier 4 | ≈$4,300 |
| 60 | Kingston | 87 min | 82 min | Kingston | $800k | Tier 3 | ≈$10,800 |
| 61 | Littleton | 87 min | 69 min | Littleton/Route 495 | $900k | Tier 2 | ≈$13,100 |
| 62 | Middleborough | 88 min | 85 min | Middleborough | $525k | Tier 4 | ≈$6,900 |
| 63 | Southborough | 88 min | 81 min | Southborough | $1.25M | Tier 1 | ≈$17,500 |
| 64 | Rowley | 89 min | 85 min | Rowley | $800k | Tier 3 | ≈$10,400 |
| 65 | Ayer | 92 min | 77 min | Ayer | $550k | Tier 4 | ≈$6,900 |
| 66 | Newburyport | 96 min | 92 min | Newburyport | $1.1M | Tier 2 | ≈$11,600 |
| 67 | Taunton | 98 min | 96 min | East Taunton | $575k | Tier 4 | ≈$6,400 |
| 68 | Leominster | 102 min | 90 min | North Leominster | $500k | Tier 4 | ≈$6,800 |
| 69 | Grafton | 104 min | 96 min | Grafton | $725k | Tier 3 | ≈$9,900 |
| 70 | Westborough | 104 min | 90 min | Westborough | $950k | Tier 1 | ≈$15,100 |
| 71 | Fitchburg | 109 min | 97 min | Fitchburg | $420k | Tier 4 | ≈$5,600 |
| 72 | Worcester | 110 min | 95 min | Worcester | $550k | Tier 4 | ≈$7,300 |
| 73 | New Bedford | 117 min | 116 min | Church Street | $475k | Tier 4 | ≈$5,200 |
| 74 | Freetown | 121 min | 108 min | Freetown | $625k | Tier 3 | ≈$7,500 |
| 75 | Fall River | 128 min | 115 min | Fall River Depot | $450k | Tier 4 | ≈$5,200 |
Towns where service barely runs
These 4 towns have a station and a scheduled journey, but fewer than three peak departures — flag stops and end-of-line halts. The time is real; treating it as a commute is not, because missing one service can mean an hour.
| Town | Typical | Station | Peak departures | 4BR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andover | 72 min | Ballardvale | 2 | $1M |
| Foxborough | 84 min | Foxboro | 2 | $800k |
| Haverhill | 90 min | Bradford | 2 | $625k |
| Gloucester | 90 min | West Gloucester | 2 | $875k |
What this page cannot tell you
- It is a timetable, not a journey. Add your walk, drive or bus to the station at one end and the walk to your desk at the other. For a park-and-ride town that can be fifteen minutes before you board.
- Scheduled is not actual. These are the times the MBTA publishes. They are not adjusted for how reliably each line keeps them, and reliability varies a lot by line.
- Driving is not here at all. Traffic-aware routing needs a data source we do not have, and we would rather leave the column out than model it. If you will drive, treat this page as silent on your commute.
- 142 of our 223 towns have no station and so cannot appear, however good a place they might be to live.
Transit times computed from the MBTA GTFS feed for 2026-08-05, a weekday with normal service. Prices, tax bills and school tiers are ours — see the methodology. Data last reviewed .
