Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 70/100
B−
Median home value$1,264,900
Boston $646,300
Median rent$2,370/mo
Boston $2,023/mo
Cost-burdened households31%
Boston 36%
Newton
Middlesex County89,044 residentsNewton
75
B
Suburbgrade score
3rd of 60 Boston suburbs. Strong on schools and amenities, held back by cost of living.
75
Boston median 61
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Newton yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 75 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 Newton is like to live in, by category
Bars show Newton against Boston. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 93/100
A+
Within-state proficiency92nd pct
Boston median 47th pct
Student–teacher ratio10.6
Boston median 11.8
Graduation rate96%
Boston median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 65/100
C+
Housing cost index129
Boston 100
Eff. tax rate0.87%
Boston 1.01%
Local sales tax6.25%
Boston median 6.25%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 70/100
B−
Mean commute26.6 min
Boston 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes58%
Boston 52%
Transit stops / sq mi17
Boston median 8.1 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 76/100
B
Restaurants & cafés75
Boston median 51 · within 2 miles
Groceries9
Boston median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks123
Boston median 65 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 75/100
B
Median household income$190,304
Boston $115,863
Unemployment3.8%
Boston 4.9%
Professional occupations75%
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 Newton 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 Newton on cost of living
Newton's weakest grade is C+. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCost of livingOverall
Peabody19 mi from NewtonA− 57 C− Woburn11 mi from NewtonB+ 63 C+ Beverly24 mi from NewtonB+ 56 C− Hudson19 mi from NewtonB+ 54 C− Weymouth Town16 mi from NewtonB+ 55 C− Lowell22 mi from NewtonB+ 50 D+ Cost-of-living index composed in-house from housing cost, utilities, effective property tax and local sales tax · Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Effective property tax: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Newton
Is Newton, MA a good place to live?
Newton scores 75 out of 100, 3rd of 60 Boston suburbs. It is strongest on schools and weakest on cost of living. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Newton expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C+. The median home is $1,264,900, 96% above the Boston median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.87%. $2,370/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Newton?
Schools grade A+. The districts serving Newton sit at the 92nd pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 96% graduation rate and a 10.6 student–teacher ratio. Newton is served by Newton. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Newton?
The mean commute is 26.6 min, with 58% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 32% working from home. Transit density is 17 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Newton?
Within two miles there are 9 groceries, 75 restaurants and cafés and 123 parks, which grades B on amenities.
Are the homes in Newton old or new?
The median home in Newton was built in 1942 — 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. 62% 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.