Compare towns side by side

Pick up to four Massachusetts communities and see them against each other on the things that actually decide it — schools, what a house costs, the tax bill you would really pay, the commute, and what the place is like to live in. The address bar updates as you go, so you can send the exact comparison to whoever you are deciding with.

	Newton	Lexington
School tier	top schools	top schools
MCAS percentile	91st	99th
Niche rank (of 236)	10th	3rd
4BR house	$1.9M	$2.05M
3BR townhouse	$1.25M	$1.35M
2BR condo	$925k	$1M
Tax rate / $1,000	$9.69	$12.31
Est. tax bill (median home)	≈$18,400	≈$25,200
Commute to Boston	31 min	38 min
Miles to Boston	8 mi	11 mi
MBTA rail	T · 26 min	None
Energy	7/10	6/10
Compact town center	7/10	6/10
Family amenities	8/10	8/10
Culture	7/10	9/10
Visitor presence	4/10	8/10
Gathering places	8/10	9/10

The better figure in each row is highlighted, where “better” is obvious — cheaper, closer, stronger schools. Vibe rows are not highlighted: a 9 for visitor presence is not better than a 3, it is just different, so those are yours to judge. Prices and tax bills are estimates; commutes take the rail leg from the MBTA timetable and still model the drive — see the methodology. This comparison never uses demographics.