What stands out worked out from the figures below

Kingston has the most affordable homes ($611k median).

Wakefield has the most people working from home (24.6%).

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	Kingston	Wakefield
People
Population	14,027Lowest	27,793Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census	+8.5%Lowest MA: +7.4%	+8.7%Highest MA: +7.4%
Median age	46.5±3.9Highest 16% above MA	42.4±1.7Lowest 6% above MA
	Kingston and Wakefield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	19.9%±3.2Lowest MA: 19.4%	20%±2.2Highest MA: 19.4%
	Wakefield and Kingston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	22.8%±3.7Highest MA: 17.9%	19%±1.9Lowest MA: 17.9%
	Kingston and Wakefield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	48.2%Lowest MA: 47.3%	59.7%Highest MA: 47.3%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	2.7%±1.1Lowest MA: 7.9%	4.4%±0.9Highest MA: 7.9%
	Wakefield and Kingston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$119,876±$13kLowest 15% above MA	$134,306±$14kHighest 29% above MA
	Wakefield and Kingston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$610,600±$30kLowest 9% above MA	$723,500±$24kHighest 29% above MA
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,159±$244Lowest 34% below MA	$1,958±$102Highest 11% above MA
Property taxmedian, yearly	$7,650Lowest 28% above MA	$7,779Highest 30% above MA
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	35.9%±13Lowest MA: 51.8%	43.7%±7.9Highest MA: 51.8%
	Wakefield and Kingston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	3.1%Lowest MA: 10%	4.9%Highest MA: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	81.2%Highest MA: 62.5%	70.7%Lowest MA: 62.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1982Highest 18 yrs newer than MA	1956Lowest 8 yrs older than MA
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	35 minHighest 20% above MA	33 minLowest 14% above MA
Work from home	19.5%±4.9Lowest MA: 18.6%	24.6%±3.1Highest MA: 18.6%
	Wakefield and Kingston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#99 of 282 in MA	#179 of 282 in MA
School district	Kingston · Silver Lake	Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational Technical · Wakefield
High school in town	Silver Lake Regional High	Northeast Metro Regional Vocational
Students per teacherat that high school	12.0Highest	10.7Lowest
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.