Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 34/100
F
Median home value$600,600
Boston $646,300
Median rent$1,411/mo
Boston $2,023/mo
Cost-burdened households44%
Boston 36%
Gloucester
Essex County30,075 residentsGloucester
52
D+
Suburbgrade score
46th of 60 Boston suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by housing & affordability.
52
Boston median 61
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Gloucester yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 52 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 Gloucester is like to live in, by category
Bars show Gloucester against Boston. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 49/100
D+
Within-state proficiency31st pct
Boston median 47th pct
Student–teacher ratio10.9
Boston median 11.8
Graduation rate85%
Boston median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 79/100
B+
Housing cost index82
Boston 100
Eff. tax rate0.98%
Boston 1.01%
Local sales tax6.25%
Boston median 6.25%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 67/100
C+
Mean commute23.9 min
Boston 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes72%
Boston 52%
Transit stops / sq mi5.7
Boston median 8.1 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 49/100
D+
Restaurants & cafés41
Boston median 51 · within 2 miles
Groceries1
Boston median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks62
Boston median 65 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 38/100
D−
Median household income$83,883
Boston $115,863
Unemployment6.5%
Boston 4.9%
Professional occupations41%
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 Gloucester 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 Gloucester on housing & affordability
Gloucester's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Lynnfield19 mi from GloucesterB− 67 C+ Reading22 mi from GloucesterC+ 69 B− Wilmington25 mi from GloucesterC+ 64 C+ Marblehead12 mi from GloucesterC+ 63 C+ Swampscott15 mi from GloucesterC− 61 C Melrose22 mi from GloucesterC− 68 B− Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Gloucester
Is Gloucester, MA a good place to live?
Gloucester scores 52 out of 100, 46th of 60 Boston suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Gloucester expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B+. The median home is $600,600, 7% below the Boston median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.98%. $1,411/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Gloucester?
Schools grade D+. The districts serving Gloucester sit at the 31st pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 85% graduation rate and a 10.9 student–teacher ratio. Gloucester is served by Gloucester. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Gloucester?
The mean commute is 23.9 min, with 72% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 13% working from home. Transit density is 5.7 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Gloucester?
Within two miles there are 1 groceries, 41 restaurants and cafés and 62 parks, which grades D+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Gloucester old or new?
The median home in Gloucester was built in 1946 — 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. 55% 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.