Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 75/100
B
Median home value$1,215,200
Boston $646,300
Median rent$2,279/mo
Boston $2,023/mo
Cost-burdened households23%
Boston 36%
Winchester
Middlesex County23,406 residentsWinchester
73
B
Suburbgrade score
8th of 60 Boston suburbs. Strong on schools and employment & income, held back by commute & transport.
73
Boston median 61
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Winchester yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 73 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 Winchester is like to live in, by category
Bars show Winchester against Boston. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 93/100
A+
Within-state proficiency95th pct
Boston median 47th pct
Student–teacher ratio12.6
Boston median 11.8
Graduation rate96%
Boston median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 59/100
C
Housing cost index130
Boston 100
Eff. tax rate1.07%
Boston 1.01%
Local sales tax6.25%
Boston median 6.25%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 53/100
C−
Mean commute31.4 min
Boston 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes46%
Boston 52%
Transit stops / sq mi9.2
Boston median 8.1 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 72/100
B−
Restaurants & cafés51
Boston median 51 · within 2 miles
Groceries3
Boston median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks72
Boston median 65 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 80/100
B+
Median household income$230,198
Boston $115,863
Unemployment3.8%
Boston 4.9%
Professional occupations79%
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 Winchester 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 Winchester on commute & transport
Winchester's weakest grade is C−. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCommuteOverall
Cambridge5 mi from WinchesterB 74 B Waltham7 mi from WinchesterB 65 C+ Newton9 mi from WinchesterB− 75 B Brookline9 mi from WinchesterB− 77 B Watertown6 mi from WinchesterB− 68 B− Woburn3 mi from WinchesterC+ 63 C+ Mean commute: ACS 2020–24 · Commuting under 30 minutes: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Winchester
Is Winchester, MA a good place to live?
Winchester scores 73 out of 100, 8th 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 Winchester expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C. The median home is $1,215,200, 88% above the Boston median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.07%. $2,279/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Winchester?
Schools grade A+. The districts serving Winchester sit at the 95th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 96% graduation rate and a 12.6 student–teacher ratio. Winchester is served by Winchester. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Winchester?
The mean commute is 31.4 min, with 46% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 34% working from home. Transit density is 9.2 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Winchester?
Within two miles there are 3 groceries, 51 restaurants and cafés and 72 parks, which grades B− on amenities.
Are the homes in Winchester old or new?
The median home in Winchester was built in 1954 — 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. 77% 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.