North Shore Towns, Compared
Coastal Essex County and its immediate inland neighbours — commuter rail and the Blue Line down one side, Route 128 through the middle.
Of the 18 North Shore towns we cover, Lynnfield has the strongest school tier and Saugus is closest to downtown Boston at about 35 minutes, and Lynn is the cheapest at roughly $650k for a 4BR house. 8 of them have MBTA rail.
Every North Shore town
Sorted by school tier, then commute to Boston. Every column links through to the town’s own page.
| # | Town | Schools | 4BR house | Commute | Rail | Tax rate | Est. bill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lynnfield | strong schools · Niche 25thT2 | $1.2MT3 | 39 minT2 | None | $11.50T2 | ≈$13,800 |
| 2 | Swampscott | strong schools · Niche 77thT2 | $1.05MT3 | 42 minT2 | Rail · 31 min | $11.50T2 | ≈$12,100 |
| 3 | Topsfield | strong schools · Niche 43rdT2 | $1MT3 | 52 minT3 | None | $15.00T4 | ≈$15,000 |
| 4 | Wenham | strong schools · Niche 62ndT2 | $950kT3 | 54 minT3 | None | $16.50T4 | ≈$15,700 |
| 5 | Hamilton | strong schools · Niche 62ndT2 | $950kT3 | 55 minT3 | Rail · 52 min | $14.50T3 | ≈$13,800 |
| 6 | Marblehead | strong schools · Niche 44thT2 | $1.35MT3 | 56 minT3 | None | $8.56T1 | ≈$11,600 |
| 7 | Manchester-by-the-Sea | strong schools · Niche 51stT2 | $1.5MT4 | 58 minT3 | Rail · 59 min | $9.50T1 | ≈$14,300 |
| 8 | Essex | strong schools · Niche 51stT2 | $900kT3 | 62 minT4 | None | $13.50T3 | ≈$12,200 |
| 9 | Saugus | solid schoolsT3 | $725kT2 | 35 minT2 | None | $10.42T2 | ≈$7,600 |
| 10 | Nahant | solid schoolsT3 | $900kT3 | 44 minT2 | None | $9.50T1 | ≈$8,600 |
| 11 | Peabody | solid schoolsT3 | $735kT2 | 45 minT2 | None | $9.47T1 | ≈$7,000 |
| 12 | Salem | solid schoolsT3 | $725kT2 | 47 minT3 | Rail · 38 min | $10.78T2 | ≈$7,800 |
| 13 | Middleton | solid schools · Niche 43rdT3 | $950kT3 | 49 minT3 | None | $12.50T3 | ≈$11,900 |
| 14 | Danvers | solid schools · Niche 85thT3 | $825kT2 | 50 minT3 | None | $10.69T2 | ≈$8,800 |
| 15 | Beverly | solid schools · Niche 101stT3 | $850kT2 | 54 minT3 | Rail · 42 min | $10.81T2 | ≈$9,200 |
| 16 | Ipswich | solid schools · Niche 83rdT3 | $900kT3 | 60 minT3 | Rail · 58 min | $11.50T2 | ≈$10,400 |
| 17 | Gloucester | solid schoolsT3 | $875kT2 | 71 minT4 | Rail · 66 min | $9.31T1 | ≈$8,100 |
| 18 | Lynn | mixed schoolsT4 | $650kT2 | 40 minT2 | Rail · 28 min | $10.30T2 | ≈$6,700 |
How this region is defined: “North Shore” has no legal boundary, so we use the membership of the North Shore Task Force rather than drawing our own line. Rockport is a member but sits outside the 223 municipalities we cover, so it is not listed. Data last reviewed . See the methodology for every source.
