Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 64/100
C+
Median home value$1,246,800
Boston $646,300
Median rent$2,835/mo
Boston $2,023/mo
Cost-burdened households37%
Boston 36%
Brookline
Norfolk County63,266 residentsBrookline
77
B
Suburbgrade score
1st of 60 Boston suburbs. Strong on amenities and schools, held back by housing & affordability.
77
Boston median 61
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Brookline yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 77 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Brookline is like to live in, by category
Bars show Brookline against Boston. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 91/100
A
Within-state proficiency95th pct
Boston median 47th pct
Student–teacher ratio12.9
Boston median 11.8
Graduation rate94%
Boston median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 69/100
B−
Housing cost index137
Boston 100
Eff. tax rate0.80%
Boston 1.01%
Local sales tax6.25%
Boston median 6.25%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 68/100
B−
Mean commute27.1 min
Boston 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes54%
Boston 52%
Transit stops / sq mi20
Boston median 8.1 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 95/100
A+
Restaurants & cafés249
Boston median 51 · within 2 miles
Groceries17
Boston median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks194
Boston median 65 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 74/100
B
Median household income$142,101
Boston $115,863
Unemployment3.6%
Boston 4.9%
Professional occupations83%
Boston 54%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Brookline yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Brookline on housing & affordability
Brookline's weakest grade is C+. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Wellesley7 mi from BrooklineA− 76 B Lexington10 mi from BrooklineB+ 75 B Winchester9 mi from BrooklineB 73 B Needham6 mi from BrooklineB 73 B Lynnfield15 mi from BrooklineB− 67 C+ Newton3 mi from BrooklineB− 75 B Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Brookline
Is Brookline, MA a good place to live?
Brookline scores 77 out of 100, 1st of 60 Boston suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Brookline expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B−. The median home is $1,246,800, 93% above the Boston median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.80%. $2,835/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Brookline?
Schools grade A. The districts serving Brookline sit at the 95th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 94% graduation rate and a 12.9 student–teacher ratio. Brookline is served by Brookline. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Brookline?
The mean commute is 27.1 min, with 54% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 30% working from home. Transit density is 20 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Brookline?
Within two miles there are 17 groceries, 249 restaurants and cafés and 194 parks, which grades A+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Brookline old or new?
The median home in Brookline was built in 1939 or earlier — older than the Boston median of 1964. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 24% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.