What stands out worked out from the figures below

Danforth has the most affordable homes ($85k median).

Topsfield has the most people working from home (5.1%).

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	Danforth	Topsfield
People
Population	452Highest	214Lowest
Median age	51.9±5.3Lowest 16% above ME	63.5±4.9Highest 42% above ME
Kids under 18	14.8%±6.6Highest ME: 18.1%	13.1%±10.4Lowest ME: 18.1%
	Danforth and Topsfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	22.6%±5.8Lowest ME: 22.4%	44.9%±12.5Highest ME: 22.4%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	4.5%Lowest ME: 36.2%	14.4%Highest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	2.4%±2.9Highest ME: 5.8%	0.9%±5.3Lowest ME: 5.8%
	Danforth and Topsfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$42,264±$11kLowest 43% below ME	$48,125±$16kHighest 36% below ME
	Topsfield and Danforth are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$85,200±$20kLowest 71% below ME	$141,700±$32kHighest 52% below ME
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$629±$22 45% below ME	—
Property taxmedian, yearly	—	$957 68% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	11.5%±71.8 ME: 48.4%	—
Below poverty line	12%Lowest ME: 10.7%	13.1%Highest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	79.4%Lowest ME: 74.3%	95.1%Highest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1981Highest 4 yrs newer than ME	1969Lowest 8 yrs older than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	27 minLowest 9% above ME	34 minHighest 39% above ME
Work from home	3%±2.8Lowest ME: 15.9%	5.1%±6.2Highest ME: 15.9%
	Topsfield and Danforth 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.