What stands out worked out from the figures below

Byron has the highest household income ($90k).

Topsfield has the most kids (13.1% under 18).

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	Byron	Topsfield
People
Population	174Lowest	214Highest
Median age	58.9±12.3Lowest 31% above ME	63.5±4.9Highest 42% above ME
	Topsfield and Byron are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	1.1%±16.8Lowest ME: 18.1%	13.1%±10.4Highest ME: 18.1%
	Topsfield and Byron are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	14.4%±13.8Lowest ME: 22.4%	44.9%±12.5Highest ME: 22.4%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	11.7%Lowest ME: 36.2%	14.4%Highest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	0%±8.9Lowest ME: 5.8%	0.9%±5.3Highest ME: 5.8%
	Topsfield and Byron are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$90,417±$53kHighest 21% above ME	$48,125±$16kLowest 36% below ME
	Byron and Topsfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$122,700±$61kLowest 59% below ME	$141,700±$32kHighest 52% below ME
	Topsfield and Byron are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$1,301Highest 57% below ME	$957Lowest 68% below ME
Below poverty line	14.9%Highest ME: 10.7%	13.1%Lowest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	97.8%Highest ME: 74.3%	95.1%Lowest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1978Highest 1 yr newer than ME	1969Lowest 8 yrs older than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	43 minHighest 74% above ME	34 minLowest 39% above ME
Work from home	4.1%±5.8Lowest ME: 15.9%	5.1%±6.2Highest ME: 15.9%
	Topsfield and Byron are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Schools
School district	—	East Range CSD
High school in town	—	None in town
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	None yet	None yet

ME 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.