What stands out worked out from the figures below

Baltimore has the most affordable homes ($219k median).

Waltham has the most people working from home (20.6%).

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	Baltimore	Waltham
People
Population	361Lowest	452Highest
Median age	51.2±10.3Lowest 19% above VT	60.8±7.3Highest 41% above VT
	Waltham and Baltimore are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	8.9%±6.7Lowest VT: 17.9%	12.8%±7.4Highest VT: 17.9%
	Waltham and Baltimore are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	14.7%±4.2Lowest VT: 21.4%	45.4%±3.1Highest VT: 21.4%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	25.5%Lowest VT: 43.8%	39%Highest VT: 43.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	2.2%±2.7Lowest VT: 7%	3.1%±2.1Highest VT: 7%
	Waltham and Baltimore are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$107,500±$16kHighest 32% above VT	$97,500±$14kLowest 20% above VT
	Baltimore and Waltham are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$219,400±$27kLowest 31% below VT	$329,700±$51kHighest 4% above VT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	—	$1,096±$113 11% below VT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,329Lowest 14% below VT	$5,714Highest 13% above VT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	26.7%±100Lowest VT: 48.4%	29.2%±58.6Highest VT: 48.4%
	Waltham and Baltimore are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	1.1%Lowest VT: 10.1%	5.3%Highest VT: 10.1%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	85.8%Lowest VT: 73.2%	86.3%Highest VT: 73.2%
Typical home builtmedian year	1977Lowest 1 yr newer than VT	1986Highest 10 yrs newer than VT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	21 minLowest 11% below VT	28 minHighest 18% above VT
Work from home	9.8%±4.4Lowest VT: 16.9%	20.6%±5.7Highest VT: 16.9%
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	None yet	None yet

VT 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.