Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 54/100
C−
Median home value$723,500
Boston $646,300
Median rent$1,958/mo
Boston $2,023/mo
Cost-burdened households31%
Boston 36%
Wakefield
Middlesex County27,793 residentsWakefield
66
C+
Suburbgrade score
18th of 60 Boston suburbs. Strong on schools and cost of living, held back by commute & transport.
66
Boston median 61
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Wakefield yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 66 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 Wakefield is like to live in, by category
Bars show Wakefield against Boston. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 81/100
B+
Within-state proficiency68th 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 · 78/100
B+
Housing cost index104
Boston 100
Eff. tax rate1.06%
Boston 1.01%
Local sales tax6.25%
Boston median 6.25%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 45/100
D
Mean commute33.2 min
Boston 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes48%
Boston 52%
Transit stops / sq mi6.3
Boston median 8.1 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 75/100
B
Restaurants & cafés86
Boston median 51 · within 2 miles
Groceries5
Boston median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks60
Boston median 65 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 66/100
C+
Median household income$134,306
Boston $115,863
Unemployment4.4%
Boston 4.9%
Professional occupations62%
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 Wakefield 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 Wakefield on commute & transport
Wakefield's weakest grade is D. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCommuteOverall
Cambridge9 mi from WakefieldB 74 B Waltham12 mi from WakefieldB 65 C+ Newton14 mi from WakefieldB− 75 B Brookline13 mi from WakefieldB− 77 B Watertown11 mi from WakefieldB− 68 B− Gloucester21 mi from WakefieldC+ 52 D+ Mean commute: ACS 2020–24 · Commuting under 30 minutes: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Wakefield
Is Wakefield, MA a good place to live?
Wakefield scores 66 out of 100, 18th 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 Wakefield expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B+. The median home is $723,500, 12% above the Boston median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.06%. $1,958/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Wakefield?
Schools grade B+. The districts serving Wakefield sit at the 68th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 96% graduation rate and a 11.4 student–teacher ratio. Wakefield is served by Wakefield. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Wakefield?
The mean commute is 33.2 min, with 48% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 25% working from home. Transit density is 6.3 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Wakefield?
Within two miles there are 5 groceries, 86 restaurants and cafés and 60 parks, which grades B on amenities.
Are the homes in Wakefield old or new?
The median home in Wakefield was built in 1956 — 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. 59% 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.