Haverhill vs Methuen
On schools these two are genuinely close — same tier and within five MCAS percentiles of each other — so the schools should not decide it. Price and commute should.
Methuen is about 5 minutes closer to downtown Boston at peak. Over a decade of commuting that gap is worth more than most people price it at.
Choose Haverhill if you want the lower price, or you want a train.
All Haverhill numbers →Choose Methuen if the commute matters most.
All Methuen numbers →Side by side
The better of the two is highlighted on each row. Where a row is not highlighted, the two are close enough that calling a winner would be false precision.
| Haverhill | Methuen | |
|---|---|---|
| School tier | mixed schoolsT4 | mixed schoolsT4 |
| MCAS percentile | 22nd | 22nd |
| Niche district rank | — | — |
| 4BR house | $625kT2 | $630kT2 |
| 2BR condo | $370k | $370k |
| Commute to Boston | 68 minT4 | 63 minT4 |
| MBTA rail | Commuter rail · ~66 min to terminal | No MBTA rail |
| Tax rate | $10.61T2 | $10.40T2 |
| Est. tax bill on that 4BR | ≈$6,600 | ≈$6,600 |
| 3BR rent | $2,677/mo | $2,530/mo |
Prices are estimates calibrated to the Zillow Home Value Index and Redfin; tax rates are FY2026 residential rates and the bill applies that rate to the town’s own median 4BR estimate; commutes take the rail leg from the MBTA timetable and still model the drive; rents are HUD FY2026 Small Area Fair Market Rents. School tiers are editorial and shown next to the state’s own MCAS figures. Data last reviewed — see the methodology. This comparison never uses demographics as an input.
