Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 50/100
D+
Median home value$748,700
Boston $646,300
Median rent$2,268/mo
Boston $2,023/mo
Cost-burdened households35%
Boston 36%
Waltham
Middlesex County64,902 residentsWaltham
65
C+
Suburbgrade score
19th of 60 Boston suburbs. Strong on amenities and cost of living, held back by housing & affordability.
65
Boston median 61
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Waltham yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 65 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 Waltham is like to live in, by category
Bars show Waltham against Boston. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 53/100
C−
Within-state proficiency36th pct
Boston median 47th pct
Student–teacher ratio10.2
Boston median 11.8
Graduation rate82%
Boston median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 78/100
B+
Housing cost index108
Boston 100
Eff. tax rate0.69%
Boston 1.01%
Local sales tax6.25%
Boston median 6.25%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 73/100
B
Mean commute24.7 min
Boston 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes62%
Boston 52%
Transit stops / sq mi22
Boston median 8.1 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 82/100
B+
Restaurants & cafés128
Boston median 51 · within 2 miles
Groceries10
Boston median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks95
Boston median 65 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 65/100
C+
Median household income$120,216
Boston $115,863
Unemployment3.7%
Boston 4.9%
Professional occupations59%
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 Waltham 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 Waltham on housing & affordability
Waltham's weakest grade is D+. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Wellesley6 mi from WalthamA− 76 B Lexington4 mi from WalthamB+ 75 B Winchester7 mi from WalthamB 73 B Needham7 mi from WalthamB 73 B Lynnfield14 mi from WalthamB− 67 C+ Newton4 mi from WalthamB− 75 B Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Waltham
Is Waltham, MA a good place to live?
Waltham scores 65 out of 100, 19th of 60 Boston suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Waltham expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B+. The median home is $748,700, 16% above the Boston median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.69%. $2,268/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Waltham?
Schools grade C−. The districts serving Waltham sit at the 36th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 82% graduation rate and a 10.2 student–teacher ratio. Waltham is served by Waltham. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Waltham?
The mean commute is 24.7 min, with 62% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 24% working from home. Transit density is 22 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Waltham?
Within two miles there are 10 groceries, 128 restaurants and cafés and 95 parks, which grades B+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Waltham old or new?
The median home in Waltham was built in 1961 — 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. 46% 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.