Boston

Shortest commutes to Downtown Boston

Ranked on distance to Downtown Boston at 50% and the mean commute time residents report to the Census at 50%. The mean commute includes people who work locally, which is why the two numbers do not always agree.

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
Commute BHousing C−Cost of living B
80
Commute score
overall 74 B
2
Coolidge Corner South Side, Brookline, MA, USA
Brookline$1.25M median · 27.1 min commute
Commute B−Housing C+Cost of living B−
76
Commute score
overall 77 B
3
City Hall, Waltham, Massachusetts.
Waltham$749k median · 24.7 min commute
Commute BHousing D+Cost of living B+
74
Commute score
overall 65 C+
4
Newton City Hall in Massachusetts, closer view. 1000 Commonwealth Avenue, Newton Centre.
Newton$1.26M median · 26.6 min commute
Commute B−Housing B−Cost of living C+
72
Commute score
overall 75 B
5
Main Street in Watertown, Massachusetts, USA.
Watertown$785k median · 27.6 min commute
Commute B−Housing D+Cost of living C+
72
Commute score
overall 68 B−
6
Boston, Beacon Hill
Boston$732k median · 30.3 min commute
Commute D+Housing D−Cost of living B
72
Commute score
overall 53 C−
7
Woburn, MA
Woburn$674k median · 25.3 min commute
Commute C+Housing D+Cost of living B+
72
Commute score
overall 63 C+
8
Photo was taken by Mark Haggerty in 1998.
Stoneham$672k median · 27.8 min commute
Commute CHousing C−Cost of living B
69
Commute score
overall 68 B−
9
Front view of Peabody City Hall after a snowfall in Peabody, Massachusetts
Peabody$596k median · 25.8 min commute
Commute C−Housing DCost of living A−
69
Commute score
overall 57 C−
10
Davis Square in Somerville, looking north up Holland St.
Somerville$911k median · 31.0 min commute
Commute C−Housing C−Cost of living B
68
Commute score
overall 67 C+
This list's weighting
Distance to downtown 50%Mean commute time 50%
Other Boston lists
Best Boston suburbs for familiesMost affordable Boston suburbsBest Boston suburbs for schoolsMost walkable Boston suburbsBest Boston suburbs for young professionalsHow we score Boston suburbs →

Photos from Wikimedia Commons: Cambridge (Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0); Brookline (Pesotsky · CC BY 3.0); Waltham (Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0); Newton (Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0); Watertown (IFCAR · Public domain); Boston (Ian Howard · CC BY 2.5); Woburn (Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0); Stoneham (The original uploader was Bhaggs at English Wikipedia. · Public domain); Peabody (Fletcher · CC BY 4.0); Somerville (4300streetcar · CC BY 4.0).