What stands out worked out from the figures below

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

Waltham has the most people working from home (13.4%).

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	Waltham
People
Population	452Highest	346Lowest
Median age	51.9±5.3Lowest 16% above ME	56.4±9.3Highest 26% above ME
	Waltham and Danforth are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	14.8%±6.6Lowest ME: 18.1%	15%±8.1Highest ME: 18.1%
	Waltham and Danforth 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%	32.9%±4.7Highest ME: 22.4%
	Waltham and Danforth are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	4.5%Lowest ME: 36.2%	22.8%Highest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	2.4%±2.9Highest ME: 5.8%	1.7%±3.5Lowest ME: 5.8%
	Danforth and Waltham 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	$71,071±$14kHighest 5% below ME
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$85,200±$20kLowest 71% below ME	$181,300±$22kHighest 39% below ME
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$629±$22Lowest 45% below ME	$850±$567Highest 25% below ME
	Waltham and Danforth are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	—	$1,452 52% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	11.5%±71.8Lowest ME: 48.4%	15%±96.7Highest ME: 48.4%
	Waltham and Danforth are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	12%Lowest ME: 10.7%	19.7%Highest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	79.4%Lowest ME: 74.3%	85.2%Highest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1981Lowest 4 yrs newer than ME	1986Highest 9 yrs newer than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	27 minLowest 9% above ME	41 minHighest 67% above ME
Work from home	3%±2.8Lowest ME: 15.9%	13.4%±6.1Highest ME: 15.9%
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.