Best Neighborhoods in Boston, MA
4 neighborhoods ranked by safety, walkability, affordability, and quality of life — powered by real data from the US Census, FBI, EPA, and Walk Score.
Best Neighborhoods in Boston, MA — Key Takeaways
The best neighborhood in Boston is South End Boston with a Kurby Score of 69/100. Boston has 4 neighborhoods ranked by quality of life data. The safest neighborhood is Beacon Hill with a violent crime rate of 0.1 per 1,000 residents, 97% below the national average of 3.6. The most affordable is Cambridge with a median home value of $785,000. The most walkable is Back Bay with a Walk Score of 100/100.
Boston has a population of 675,647, a median household income of $76,298, an unemployment rate of 4.6%, and a poverty rate of 17.5%. The median home value citywide is $620,000, which is 120% above the national average of $281,900.
Data sourced from the US Census Bureau, FBI Crime Data Explorer, EPA AirNow, Walk Score, and FEMA. Last updated: March 2026.
Top 3 Neighborhoods
| # | Neighborhood | Kurby Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| South End Boston | 69 | ||
| Cambridge | 61 | ||
| Beacon Hill | 69 | ||
4 | Back Bay | 67 |
Rankings by Category
Top 5 neighborhoods in Boston for each quality-of-life metric.
Lowest violent crime rate
- 0.1 per 1K
- 0.1 per 1K
- 0.2 per 1K
Highest Walk Score
- 100/100
- 99/100
- 97/100
- 94/100
Lowest median home value
- $785,000
- $825,000
- $985,000
- $1,050,000
Lowest poverty rate
- 12.1%
Lowest unemployment rate
- 4.2%
- 4.6%
- 4.6%
- 4.6%
Highest median household income
- $186,477
- $143,077
- $94,306
- $24,728
Lowest Air Quality Index
- AQI 52
- AQI 52
- AQI 52
- AQI 52
Most nearby schools
- 50 schools
- 50 schools
- 50 schools
Neighborhoods are ranked using the Kurby Score, a composite quality-of-life index that evaluates seven weighted categories based on publicly available data:
- Affordability
- 20% weight
- Walkability & Transit
- 15% weight
- Safety
- 15% weight
- Environment
- 15% weight
- Housing Market
- 15% weight
- Education
- 10% weight
- Economy
- 10% weight
Each category incorporates multiple data points. For example, Safety uses both violent and property crime rates; Environment considers air quality (AQI), noise levels, climate risk, and flood zone status; Housing Market factors in vacancy rates, homeownership rates, and effective tax rates.
Data Sources: US Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR), EPA AirNow, Walk Score, DOT National Transportation Noise Map, FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and EIA Electricity Data. All data is updated on a rolling basis as new government releases become available.