Compare towns
Ipswich vs Somerville
Cost, people, housing, commute and schools, side by side, each benchmarked against Massachusetts.
What stands out worked out from the figures below
Ipswich has the most homeowners (74.4%).
Somerville has the most people working from home (31.3%).
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 | Ipswich | Somerville |
|---|---|---|
| Your priorities | ||
| People | ||
| Population | 13,930Lowest |
81,036Highest |
| Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census | +4.6%Lowest MA: +7.4% |
+7%Highest MA: +7.4% |
| Median age | 47.2±3.5Highest 18% above MA |
31.9±0.6Lowest 20% below MA |
| Kids under 18 | 18.9%±2.7Highest MA: 19.4% |
9.8%±0.8Lowest MA: 19.4% |
| Age 65+ | 21.9%±2.4Highest MA: 17.9% |
10%±0.8Lowest MA: 17.9% |
| Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ | 60.2%Lowest MA: 47.3% |
69.4%Highest MA: 47.3% |
| Enrolled in collegeshare of residents | 4.1%±1.3Lowest MA: 7.9% |
12.8%±1.2Highest MA: 7.9% |
| Cost of living | ||
| Household incomemedian | $138,750±$16kHighest 33% above MA |
$132,572±$6kLowest 28% above MA |
| Ipswich and Somerville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher. | ||
| Home valuemedian, owner-occupied | $745,400±$40kLowest 33% above MA |
$911,300±$26kHighest 62% above MA |
| Rentmedian gross, monthly | $1,598±$90Lowest 9% below MA |
$2,517±$64Highest 43% above MA |
| Property taxmedian, yearly | $7,960Highest 33% above MA |
$6,186Lowest 3% above MA |
| Renters paying 30%+of income on rent | 51.5%±12.2Highest MA: 51.8% |
36.2%±2.9Lowest MA: 51.8% |
| Below poverty line | 5.7%Lowest MA: 10% |
9.8%Highest MA: 10% |
| Housing | ||
| Homeownersof occupied homes | 74.4%Highest MA: 62.5% |
34.2%Lowest MA: 62.5% |
| Typical home builtmedian year | 1964Highest same as MA |
1938Lowest 26 yrs older than MA |
| Getting to work | ||
| Average commuteone way | 29 minLowest about the MA average |
31 minHighest 7% above MA |
| Work from home | 18.9%±3.8Lowest MA: 18.6% |
31.3%±2.2Highest MA: 18.6% |
| Schools | ||
| Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading | #101 of 282 in MA | #225 of 282 in MA |
| School district | Ipswich | Somerville |
| High school in town | Ipswich High | Somerville High |
| Students per teacherat that high school | 9.0Lowest |
11.2Highest |
| 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.