Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 63/100
C+
Median home value$809,000
Boston $646,300
Median rent$1,991/mo
Boston $2,023/mo
Cost-burdened households23%
Boston 36%
Reading
Middlesex County25,612 residentsReading
69
B−
Suburbgrade score
11th of 60 Boston suburbs. Strong on schools and employment & income, held back by commute & transport.
69
Boston median 61
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Reading yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 69 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 Reading is like to live in, by category
Bars show Reading against Boston. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 88/100
A
Within-state proficiency84th pct
Boston median 47th pct
Student–teacher ratio11.9
Boston median 11.8
Graduation rate97%
Boston median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 69/100
B−
Housing cost index112
Boston 100
Eff. tax rate1.15%
Boston 1.01%
Local sales tax6.25%
Boston median 6.25%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 53/100
C−
Mean commute30.9 min
Boston 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes52%
Boston 52%
Transit stops / sq mi2.5
Boston median 8.1 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 66/100
C+
Restaurants & cafés45
Boston median 51 · within 2 miles
Groceries3
Boston median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks69
Boston median 65 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 74/100
B
Median household income$165,912
Boston $115,863
Unemployment3.3%
Boston 4.9%
Professional occupations67%
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 Reading 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 Reading on commute & transport
Reading's weakest grade is C−. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCommuteOverall
Cambridge11 mi from ReadingB 74 B Waltham12 mi from ReadingB 65 C+ Newton15 mi from ReadingB− 75 B Brookline15 mi from ReadingB− 77 B Watertown12 mi from ReadingB− 68 B− Gloucester22 mi from ReadingC+ 52 D+ Mean commute: ACS 2020–24 · Commuting under 30 minutes: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Reading
Is Reading, MA a good place to live?
Reading scores 69 out of 100, 11th 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 Reading expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B−. The median home is $809,000, 25% above the Boston median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.15%. $1,991/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Reading?
Schools grade A. The districts serving Reading sit at the 84th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 97% graduation rate and a 11.9 student–teacher ratio. Reading is served by Reading. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Reading?
The mean commute is 30.9 min, with 52% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 30% working from home. Transit density is 2.5 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Reading?
Within two miles there are 3 groceries, 45 restaurants and cafés and 69 parks, which grades C+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Reading old or new?
The median home in Reading was built in 1960 — close to 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.