Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 28/100
F
Median home value$493,500
Boston $646,300
Median rent$1,956/mo
Boston $2,023/mo
Cost-burdened households52%
Boston 36%
Chelsea
Suffolk County39,908 residentsChelsea
46
D
Suburbgrade score
57th of 60 Boston suburbs. Strong on amenities and cost of living, held back by employment & income.
46
Boston median 61
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Chelsea yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 46 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 Chelsea is like to live in, by category
Bars show Chelsea against Boston. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 32/100
F
Within-state proficiency5th pct
Boston median 47th pct
Student–teacher ratio11.8
Boston median 11.8
Graduation rate64%
Boston median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 77/100
B
Housing cost index94
Boston 100
Eff. tax rate0.67%
Boston 1.01%
Local sales tax6.25%
Boston median 6.25%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 38/100
D−
Mean commute32.9 min
Boston 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes46%
Boston 52%
Transit stops / sq mi34
Boston median 8.1 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 88/100
A
Restaurants & cafés203
Boston median 51 · within 2 miles
Groceries11
Boston median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks216
Boston median 65 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 24/100
F
Median household income$72,179
Boston $115,863
Unemployment9.2%
Boston 4.9%
Professional occupations28%
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 Chelsea 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 Chelsea on employment & income
Chelsea's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbEmploymentOverall
Lexington11 mi from ChelseaB+ 75 B Winchester7 mi from ChelseaB+ 73 B Arlington7 mi from ChelseaB+ 74 B Marblehead12 mi from ChelseaB+ 63 C+ Somerville4 mi from ChelseaB+ 67 C+ Needham13 mi from ChelseaB 73 B Median household income: ACS 2020–24 · Unemployment: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Chelsea
Is Chelsea, MA a good place to live?
Chelsea scores 46 out of 100, 57th of 60 Boston suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on employment & income. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Chelsea expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B. The median home is $493,500, 24% below the Boston median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.67%. $1,956/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Chelsea?
Schools grade F. The districts serving Chelsea sit at the 5th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 64% graduation rate and a 11.8 student–teacher ratio. Chelsea is served by Chelsea. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Chelsea?
The mean commute is 32.9 min, with 46% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 10% working from home. Transit density is 34 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Chelsea?
Within two miles there are 11 groceries, 203 restaurants and cafés and 216 parks, which grades A on amenities.
Are the homes in Chelsea old or new?
The median home in Chelsea was built in 1941 — 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. 13% 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.