Compare towns
Fall River vs Boston
Cost, people, housing, commute and schools, side by side, each benchmarked against Massachusetts.
What stands out worked out from the figures below
Fall River has the most affordable homes ($396k median).
Boston has the most people working from home (21.3%).
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.
| Measure | Fall River | Boston |
|---|---|---|
| Your priorities | ||
| People | ||
| Population | 94,082Lowest |
666,442Highest |
| Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census | +5.8%Lowest MA: +7.4% |
+9.4%Highest MA: +7.4% |
| Median age | 39.3±1.2Highest about the MA average |
33.3±0.2Lowest 17% below MA |
| Kids under 18 | 19.9%±1.2Highest MA: 19.4% |
15.1%±0.3Lowest MA: 19.4% |
| Age 65+ | 16.1%±0.9Highest MA: 17.9% |
13%±0.3Lowest MA: 17.9% |
| Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ | 16.4%Lowest MA: 47.3% |
54.9%Highest MA: 47.3% |
| Enrolled in collegeshare of residents | 4.1%±0.6Lowest MA: 7.9% |
15%±0.3Highest MA: 7.9% |
| Cost of living | ||
| Household incomemedian | $56,673±$3kLowest 45% below MA |
$97,344±$2kHighest 6% below MA |
| Home valuemedian, owner-occupied | $395,500±$11kLowest 30% below MA |
$731,700±$10kHighest 30% above MA |
| Rentmedian gross, monthly | $1,155±$27Lowest 34% below MA |
$2,147±$25Highest 22% above MA |
| Property taxmedian, yearly | $3,953Lowest 34% below MA |
$4,456Highest 26% below MA |
| Renters paying 30%+of income on rent | 52.5%±3.3Highest MA: 51.8% |
51.2%±1.2Lowest MA: 51.8% |
| Fall River and Boston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher. | ||
| Below poverty line | 19.6%Highest MA: 10% |
16.6%Lowest MA: 10% |
| Housing | ||
| Homeownersof occupied homes | 35.3%Lowest MA: 62.5% |
35.7%Highest MA: 62.5% |
| Typical home builtmedian year | 1945Lowest 19 yrs older than MA |
1947Highest 17 yrs older than MA |
| Getting to work | ||
| Average commuteone way | 26 minLowest 11% below MA |
30 minHighest 4% above MA |
| Work from home | 7.1%±1.2Lowest MA: 18.6% |
21.3%±0.5Highest MA: 18.6% |
| Schools | ||
| Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading | #262 of 282 in MA | #258 of 282 in MA |
| School district | Fall River · Greater Fall River Regional Vocational Technical | Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers: A Horace Mann · Boston |
| High school in town | B M C Durfee High | Boston Latin School |
| Students per teacherat that high school | 11.3Lowest |
18.7Highest |
| 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.