Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 62/100
C
Median home value$740,600
Boston $646,300
Median rent$2,718/mo
Boston $2,023/mo
Cost-burdened households30%
Boston 36%
Burlington
Middlesex County26,274 residentsBurlington
67
C+
Suburbgrade score
15th of 60 Boston suburbs. Strongest on schools, held back by commute & transport.
67
Boston median 61
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Burlington yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 67 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 Burlington is like to live in, by category
Bars show Burlington against Boston. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 77/100
B
Within-state proficiency68th pct
Boston median 47th pct
Student–teacher ratio10.8
Boston median 11.8
Graduation rate94%
Boston median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 67/100
C+
Housing cost index118
Boston 100
Eff. tax rate0.82%
Boston 1.01%
Local sales tax6.25%
Boston median 6.25%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 61/100
C
Mean commute27.5 min
Boston 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes60%
Boston 52%
Transit stops / sq mi5.9
Boston median 8.1 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 71/100
B−
Restaurants & cafés90
Boston median 51 · within 2 miles
Groceries3
Boston median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks64
Boston median 65 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 65/100
C+
Median household income$146,436
Boston $115,863
Unemployment4.4%
Boston 4.9%
Professional occupations59%
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 Burlington 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 Burlington on commute & transport
Burlington's weakest grade is C. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCommuteOverall
Cambridge10 mi from BurlingtonB 74 B Waltham8 mi from BurlingtonB 65 C+ Newton12 mi from BurlingtonB− 75 B Brookline13 mi from BurlingtonB− 77 B Watertown9 mi from BurlingtonB− 68 B− Woburn3 mi from BurlingtonC+ 63 C+ Mean commute: ACS 2020–24 · Commuting under 30 minutes: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Burlington
Is Burlington, MA a good place to live?
Burlington scores 67 out of 100, 15th of 60 Boston suburbs. It is strongest on schools and weakest on commute & transport. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Burlington expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C+. The median home is $740,600, 15% above the Boston median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.82%. $2,718/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Burlington?
Schools grade B. The districts serving Burlington sit at the 68th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 94% graduation rate and a 10.8 student–teacher ratio. Burlington is served by Burlington. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Burlington?
The mean commute is 27.5 min, with 60% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 23% working from home. Transit density is 5.9 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Burlington?
Within two miles there are 3 groceries, 90 restaurants and cafés and 64 parks, which grades B− on amenities.
Are the homes in Burlington old or new?
The median home in Burlington was built in 1972 — newer 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. 74% 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.