Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 52/100
D+
Median home value$784,600
Boston $646,300
Median rent$2,502/mo
Boston $2,023/mo
Cost-burdened households36%
Boston 36%
Watertown
Middlesex County35,543 residentsWatertown
68
B−
Suburbgrade score
13th of 60 Boston suburbs. Strongest on amenities, held back by housing & affordability.
68
Boston median 61
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Watertown yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 68 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 Watertown is like to live in, by category
Bars show Watertown against Boston. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 72/100
B−
Within-state proficiency57th pct
Boston median 47th pct
Student–teacher ratio10.3
Boston median 11.8
Graduation rate92%
Boston median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 64/100
C+
Housing cost index116
Boston 100
Eff. tax rate0.79%
Boston 1.01%
Local sales tax6.25%
Boston median 6.25%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 68/100
B−
Mean commute27.6 min
Boston 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes56%
Boston 52%
Transit stops / sq mi27
Boston median 8.1 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 94/100
A+
Restaurants & cafés179
Boston median 51 · within 2 miles
Groceries15
Boston median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks158
Boston median 65 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 64/100
C+
Median household income$126,265
Boston $115,863
Unemployment5.3%
Boston 4.9%
Professional occupations71%
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 Watertown 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 Watertown on housing & affordability
Watertown's weakest grade is D+. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Wellesley7 mi from WatertownA− 76 B Lexington6 mi from WatertownB+ 75 B Winchester6 mi from WatertownB 73 B Needham7 mi from WatertownB 73 B Lynnfield13 mi from WatertownB− 67 C+ Newton3 mi from WatertownB− 75 B Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Watertown
Is Watertown, MA a good place to live?
Watertown scores 68 out of 100, 13th 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 Watertown expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C+. The median home is $784,600, 21% above the Boston median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.79%. $2,502/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Watertown?
Schools grade B−. The districts serving Watertown sit at the 57th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 92% graduation rate and a 10.3 student–teacher ratio. Watertown is served by Watertown. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Watertown?
The mean commute is 27.6 min, with 56% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 29% working from home. Transit density is 27 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Watertown?
Within two miles there are 15 groceries, 179 restaurants and cafés and 158 parks, which grades A+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Watertown old or new?
The median home in Watertown was built in 1947 — 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. 27% 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.