What stands out worked out from the figures below

Patten has the most people working from home (24.3%).

Topsfield has the most expensive homes ($142k 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	Patten	Topsfield
People
Population	607Highest	214Lowest
Median age	56.1±5.8Lowest 25% above ME	63.5±4.9Highest 42% above ME
	Topsfield and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	16.5%±4.8Highest ME: 18.1%	13.1%±10.4Lowest ME: 18.1%
	Patten and Topsfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	32.9%±5.6Lowest ME: 22.4%	44.9%±12.5Highest ME: 22.4%
	Topsfield and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	30.6%Highest ME: 36.2%	14.4%Lowest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	1.6%±2.7Highest ME: 5.8%	0.9%±5.3Lowest ME: 5.8%
	Patten and Topsfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$45,750±$19kLowest 39% below ME	$48,125±$16kHighest 36% below ME
	Topsfield and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$83,000±$51kLowest 72% below ME	$141,700±$32kHighest 52% below ME
	Topsfield and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$389±$99 66% below ME	—
Property taxmedian, yearly	$857Lowest 72% below ME	$957Highest 68% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	56%±58.6 ME: 48.4%	—
Below poverty line	28.4%Highest ME: 10.7%	13.1%Lowest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	72.4%Lowest ME: 74.3%	95.1%Highest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1955Lowest 22 yrs older than ME	1969Highest 8 yrs older than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	25 minLowest about the ME average	34 minHighest 39% above ME
Work from home	24.3%±24.5Highest ME: 15.9%	5.1%±6.2Lowest ME: 15.9%
	Patten and Topsfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Schools
School district	—	East Range CSD
High school in town	—	None in town
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.