Boston

Best Boston suburbs for schools

Ranked almost entirely on the Schools category — within-state proficiency, student–teacher ratio, graduation rate and schools nearby — with the two poll questions about children and teenagers at 20% once a place has enough responses.

Updated Sep 2026·60 suburbs considered, 10 listed
1
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+Cost of living C+Residents inactive
95
Schools score
overall 75 B
2
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+Cost of living C+Residents inactive
95
Schools score
overall 76 B
3
Looking north on Leonard Street, Belmont Massachusetts
Belmont$1.16M median · 29.3 min commute
Schools A+Cost of living CResidents inactive
93
Schools score
overall 73 B
4
Town hall, Winchester MA
Winchester$1.22M median · 31.4 min commute
Schools A+Cost of living CResidents inactive
93
Schools score
overall 73 B
5
Newton City Hall in Massachusetts, closer view. 1000 Commonwealth Avenue, Newton Centre.
Newton$1.26M median · 26.6 min commute
Schools A+Cost of living C+Residents inactive
93
Schools score
overall 75 B
6
The town hall in Needham, Massachusetts.
Needham$1.19M median · 27.7 min commute
Schools A+Cost of living C+Residents inactive
93
Schools score
overall 73 B
7
Arlington Town Hall, in Arlington, Massachusetts
Arlington$934k median · 32.2 min commute
Schools ACost of living BResidents inactive
92
Schools score
overall 74 B
8
Coolidge Corner South Side, Brookline, MA, USA
Brookline$1.25M median · 27.1 min commute
Schools ACost of living B−Residents inactive
91
Schools score
overall 77 B
9
A meeting hall in central Lynnfield, Massachusetts, est. 1714.
Lynnfield$918k median · 32.1 min commute
Schools ACost of living C+Residents inactive
89
Schools score
overall 67 C+
10
Downtown Reading Massachusetts on March 1, 2014
Reading$809k median · 30.9 min commute
Schools ACost of living B−Residents inactive
88
Schools score
overall 69 B−
This list's weighting
Schools 80%Resident poll (Q5, Q6) 20%

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
Best Boston suburbs for familiesMost affordable Boston suburbsShortest commutes to Downtown BostonMost walkable Boston suburbsBest Boston suburbs for young professionalsHow we score Boston suburbs →

Photos from Wikimedia Commons: Lexington (Henry Hudson Kitson · Public domain); Wellesley (Trevorwelsh · CC BY-SA 4.0); Belmont (John Phelan · CC BY 3.0); Winchester (JosephBarillari at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0); Newton (Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0); Needham (User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0); Arlington (Tim Pierce · CC BY 3.0); Brookline (Pesotsky · CC BY 3.0); Lynnfield (Fletcher6 · CC BY-SA 3.0); Reading (Terageorge · CC BY-SA 3.0).