What stands out worked out from the figures below

Amesbury has the most people working from home (17.4%).

Webster has the most affordable homes ($362k median).

What matters to you?

Pick a few. We’ll pull those rows to the top and mark which town comes out ahead on each. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Raising kidsAffordabilityOwning a homeShort commuteWorking from homeYounger crowdSettled, older crowdGrowing town

Measure	Amesbury	Webster
People
Population	17,403Lowest	17,748Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census	—	+6% MA: +7.4%
Median age	43.7±1.7Highest 9% above MA	39.9±2.9Lowest about the MA average
	Amesbury and Webster are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	20%±2.4Highest MA: 19.4%	19.6%±2.9Lowest MA: 19.4%
	Amesbury and Webster are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	18.2%±2.1Lowest MA: 17.9%	19.6%±2.5Highest MA: 17.9%
	Webster and Amesbury are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	44.8%Highest MA: 47.3%	25.3%Lowest MA: 47.3%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4.1%±1.3Lowest MA: 7.9%	5.8%±1.6Highest MA: 7.9%
	Webster and Amesbury are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$103,554±$12kHighest about the MA average	$72,895±$6kLowest 30% below MA
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$519,300±$32kHighest 8% below MA	$361,500±$12kLowest 36% below MA
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,683±$115Highest 4% below MA	$1,228±$81Lowest 30% below MA
Property taxmedian, yearly	$7,360Highest 23% above MA	$3,999Lowest 33% below MA
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	66.7%±10.7Highest MA: 51.8%	45.7%±6.7Lowest MA: 51.8%
Below poverty line	7.1%Lowest MA: 10%	12.7%Highest MA: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	68.6%Highest MA: 62.5%	59.8%Lowest MA: 62.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1969Highest 5 yrs newer than MA	1962Lowest 2 yrs older than MA
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	29 minLowest about the MA average	31 minHighest 5% above MA
Work from home	17.4%±2.8Highest MA: 18.6%	8%±2.5Lowest MA: 18.6%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#151 of 282 in MA	#271 of 282 in MA
School district	Amesbury	Webster
High school in town	Amesbury High	Bartlett High School
Students per teacherat that high school	10.9Lowest	11.6Highest
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	None yet	None yet

MA average · Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020–2024; 2010 & 2020 decennial census; NCES Common Core of Data. “±” is the Census margin of error. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. School rank compares math and reading proficiency against the state average.