Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 63/100
C+
Median home value$943,900
Boston $646,300
Median rent$1,764/mo
Boston $2,023/mo
Cost-burdened households28%
Boston 36%
Marblehead
Essex County20,413 residentsMarblehead
63
C+
Suburbgrade score
24th of 60 Boston suburbs. Strong on schools and employment & income, held back by amenities.
63
Boston median 61
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Marblehead yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 63 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 Marblehead is like to live in, by category
Bars show Marblehead against Boston. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 79/100
B+
Within-state proficiency74th pct
Boston median 47th pct
Student–teacher ratio11.4
Boston median 11.8
Graduation rate96%
Boston median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 69/100
B−
Housing cost index127
Boston 100
Eff. tax rate0.76%
Boston 1.01%
Local sales tax6.25%
Boston median 6.25%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 48/100
D+
Mean commute32.9 min
Boston 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes48%
Boston 52%
Transit stops / sq mi2.5
Boston median 8.1 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 36/100
F
Restaurants & cafés7
Boston median 51 · within 2 miles
Groceries1
Boston median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks27
Boston median 65 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 79/100
B+
Median household income$182,132
Boston $115,863
Unemployment2.6%
Boston 4.9%
Professional occupations69%
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 Marblehead 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 Marblehead on amenities
Marblehead's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same six inputs.
SuburbAmenitiesOverall
Cambridge17 mi from MarbleheadA+ 74 B Somerville15 mi from MarbleheadA+ 67 C+ Everett13 mi from MarbleheadA+ 49 D+ Brookline20 mi from MarbleheadA+ 77 B Watertown20 mi from MarbleheadA+ 68 B− Malden12 mi from MarbleheadA 55 C− Restaurants & cafés: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026 · Groceries: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026
Common questions about living in Marblehead
Is Marblehead, MA a good place to live?
Marblehead scores 63 out of 100, 24th of 60 Boston suburbs. It is strongest on schools and weakest on amenities. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Marblehead expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B−. The median home is $943,900, 46% above the Boston median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.76%. $1,764/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Marblehead?
Schools grade B+. The districts serving Marblehead sit at the 74th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 96% graduation rate and a 11.4 student–teacher ratio. Marblehead is served by Marblehead. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Marblehead?
The mean commute is 32.9 min, with 48% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 34% working from home. Transit density is 2.5 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Marblehead?
Within two miles there are 1 groceries, 7 restaurants and cafés and 27 parks, which grades F on amenities.
Are the homes in Marblehead old or new?
The median home in Marblehead was built in 1944 — 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. 81% 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.