Boston

Best Boston suburbs for families

Ranked on a families weighting: schools at 30%, amenities within two miles at 20%, and the four poll questions about children, safety and sidewalks at 20%. Cost still counts, at 15%. The full weighting is shown at the bottom, and it is not the same as the overall score.

Updated Sep 2026·60 suburbs considered, 10 listed
1
Coolidge Corner South Side, Brookline, MA, USA
Brookline$1.25M median · 27.1 min commute
Schools AAmenities A+Residents inactive
83
Family score
overall 77 B
2
Arlington Town Hall, in Arlington, Massachusetts
Arlington$934k median · 32.2 min commute
Schools AAmenities A−Residents inactive
80
Family score
overall 74 B
3
Front façade of Wellesley Town Hall, photographed from an elevated drone position on September 11, 2026.
Wellesley$1.58M median · 27.2 min commute
Schools A+Amenities B−Residents inactive
80
Family score
overall 76 B
4
Cambridge City Hall, located at 795 Massachusetts Avenue between Inman and Bigelow Streets in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was built in 1888-89 and was designed by
Cambridge$1.09M median · 25.8 min commute
Schools BAmenities A+Residents inactive
79
Family score
overall 74 B
5
Newton City Hall in Massachusetts, closer view. 1000 Commonwealth Avenue, Newton Centre.
Newton$1.26M median · 26.6 min commute
Schools A+Amenities BResidents inactive
79
Family score
overall 75 B
6
Looking north on Leonard Street, Belmont Massachusetts
Belmont$1.16M median · 29.3 min commute
Schools A+Amenities A−Residents inactive
79
Family score
overall 73 B
7
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth$689k median · 22.2 min commute
Schools A−Amenities B+Residents inactive
78
Family score
overall 72 B−
8
This is a photograph of the statue often incorrectly believed to represent Captain John Parker sculpted by Henry Hudson Kitson and erected in 1900. This statue
Lexington$1.20M median · 30.7 min commute
Schools A+Amenities C+Residents inactive
77
Family score
overall 75 B
9
Town hall, Winchester MA
Winchester$1.22M median · 31.4 min commute
Schools A+Amenities B−Residents inactive
76
Family score
overall 73 B
10
The town hall in Needham, Massachusetts.
Needham$1.19M median · 27.7 min commute
Schools A+Amenities C+Residents inactive
76
Family score
overall 73 B
This list's weighting
Schools 30%Amenities 20%Resident poll (Q2, Q5, Q6, Q8) 20%Cost of living 15%Housing 10%Commute 5%

Poll components only count for places with eight or more resident responses; for the others the remaining weights re-normalise to 100%.

Other Boston lists
Most affordable Boston suburbsBest Boston suburbs for schoolsShortest commutes to Downtown BostonMost walkable Boston suburbsBest Boston suburbs for young professionalsHow we score Boston suburbs →

Photos from Wikimedia Commons: Brookline (Pesotsky · CC BY 3.0); Arlington (Tim Pierce · CC BY 3.0); Wellesley (Trevorwelsh · CC BY-SA 4.0); Cambridge (Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0); Newton (Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0); Belmont (John Phelan · CC BY 3.0); Portsmouth (Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0); Lexington (Henry Hudson Kitson · Public domain); Winchester (JosephBarillari at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0); Needham (User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0).