What stands out worked out from the figures below

Northfield has the most expensive homes ($199k median).

Wesley has the most affordable homes ($69k median).

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	Northfield	Wesley
People
Population	263Lowest	320Highest
Median age	62.1±16.2Highest 39% above ME	37.3±3.1Lowest 17% below ME
Kids under 18	11.4%±7.8Lowest ME: 18.1%	15.6%±6.2Highest ME: 18.1%
	Wesley and Northfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	39.2%±9.2Highest ME: 22.4%	16.6%±5.8Lowest ME: 22.4%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	40.4%Highest ME: 36.2%	22.2%Lowest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	1.5%±4.4Lowest ME: 5.8%	2.2%±4Highest ME: 5.8%
	Wesley and Northfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$68,333±$52kHighest 9% below ME	$63,125±$34kLowest 16% below ME
	Northfield and Wesley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$198,600±$64kHighest 33% below ME	$68,800±$21kLowest 77% below ME
Property taxmedian, yearly	$1,773Highest 42% below ME	$558Lowest 82% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	—	27.3%±100 ME: 48.4%
Below poverty line	20.5%Lowest ME: 10.7%	34.7%Highest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	88.9%Lowest ME: 74.3%	91.8%Highest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1975Lowest 2 yrs older than ME	1993Highest 16 yrs newer than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	24 minLowest about the ME average	48 minHighest 96% above ME
Work from home	3.2%±2.6Highest ME: 15.9%	1.9%±3Lowest ME: 15.9%
	Northfield and Wesley 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.