Boston

Most walkable Boston suburbs

Ranked on amenities within two miles at 40%, transit stop density at 15%, and the three poll questions about walking to groceries, restaurants and the state of the sidewalks at 45%. Walkability is mostly something residents know and datasets do not.

Updated Sep 2026·60 suburbs considered, 10 listed
1
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
Amenities A+Commute BResidents inactive
100
Walkability
overall 74 B
2
Davis Square in Somerville, looking north up Holland St.
Somerville$911k median · 31.0 min commute
Amenities A+Commute C−Residents inactive
100
Walkability
overall 67 C+
3
Everett, Massachusetts in winter from the Whidden Hospital. Note the densely packed houses with snow on the rooftops.
Everett$610k median · 35.0 min commute
Amenities A+Commute FResidents inactive
97
Walkability
overall 49 D+
4
Main Street in Watertown, Massachusetts, USA.
Watertown$785k median · 27.6 min commute
Amenities A+Commute B−Residents inactive
95
Walkability
overall 68 B−
5
Coolidge Corner South Side, Brookline, MA, USA
Brookline$1.25M median · 27.1 min commute
Amenities A+Commute B−Residents inactive
95
Walkability
overall 77 B
6
Waitt Brick Block, Malden Massachusetts
Malden$634k median · 34.4 min commute
Amenities ACommute D−Residents inactive
94
Walkability
overall 55 C−
7
Medford Square, Medford Massachusetts
Medford$756k median · 30.2 min commute
Amenities ACommute CResidents inactive
94
Walkability
overall 65 C+
8
Chelsea$494k median · 32.9 min commute
Amenities ACommute D−Residents inactive
91
Walkability
overall 46 D
9
Arlington Town Hall, in Arlington, Massachusetts
Arlington$934k median · 32.2 min commute
Amenities A−Commute C−Residents inactive
89
Walkability
overall 74 B
10
Aerial view of downtown Quincy, Massachusetts, a city of 101,636 residents known as the “City of Presidents” as the birthplace of John Adams and John Quincy Ada
Quincy$619k median · 34.7 min commute
Amenities A−Commute D−Residents inactive
89
Walkability
overall 58 C
This list's weighting
Amenities 40%Transit stop density 15%Resident poll (Q3, Q4, Q8) 45%

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 suburbsBest Boston suburbs for schoolsShortest commutes to Downtown BostonBest Boston suburbs for young professionalsHow we score Boston suburbs →

Photos from Wikimedia Commons: Cambridge (Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0); Somerville (4300streetcar · CC BY 4.0); Everett (user:InvictaHOG · Public domain); Watertown (IFCAR · Public domain); Brookline (Pesotsky · CC BY 3.0); Malden (John Phelan · CC BY 3.0); Medford (John Phelan · CC BY 3.0); Arlington (Tim Pierce · CC BY 3.0); Quincy (Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0).