What stands out worked out from the figures below

Medford has the most affordable homes ($88k median).

Springfield has the most kids (18.1% under 18).

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	Medford	Springfield
People
Population	222Lowest	310Highest
Median age	50.5±8.8Lowest 13% above ME	52.4±7Highest 17% above ME
	Springfield and Medford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	3.2%±11.3Lowest ME: 18.1%	18.1%±5.6Highest ME: 18.1%
	Springfield and Medford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	20.7%±9.6Lowest ME: 22.4%	21.6%±5.4Highest ME: 22.4%
	Springfield and Medford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	10.8%Lowest ME: 36.2%	17.3%Highest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	3.6%±6Highest ME: 5.8%	0.6%±3.7Lowest ME: 5.8%
	Medford and Springfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$65,476±$14kHighest 12% below ME	$60,833±$23kLowest 19% below ME
	Medford and Springfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$88,200±$27kLowest 70% below ME	$122,500±$28kHighest 59% below ME
	Springfield and Medford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$1,250Highest 59% below ME	$1,067Lowest 65% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	0%±100 ME: 48.4%	—
Below poverty line	11.3%Highest ME: 10.7%	5.5%Lowest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	97.7%Highest ME: 74.3%	96.2%Lowest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1978Lowest 1 yr newer than ME	1987Highest 10 yrs newer than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	26 minLowest 6% above ME	30 minHighest 21% above ME
Work from home	7.7%±5Lowest ME: 15.9%	9.6%±5.2Highest ME: 15.9%
	Springfield and Medford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
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.