What stands out worked out from the figures below

Peabody has the shortest commute (26 min average).

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	Peabody	Wakefield
People
Population	54,695Highest	27,793Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census	+6.3%Lowest MA: +7.4%	+8.7%Highest MA: +7.4%
Median age	45.3±2.4Highest 13% above MA	42.4±1.7Lowest 6% above MA
	Peabody and Wakefield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	18.7%±1.8Lowest MA: 19.4%	20%±2.2Highest MA: 19.4%
	Wakefield and Peabody are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	24.3%±1.7Highest MA: 17.9%	19%±1.9Lowest MA: 17.9%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	35%Lowest MA: 47.3%	59.7%Highest MA: 47.3%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4.4%±0.8 MA: 7.9%	4.4%±0.9 MA: 7.9%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$96,657±$4kLowest 7% below MA	$134,306±$14kHighest 29% above MA
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$596,200±$12kLowest 6% above MA	$723,500±$24kHighest 29% above MA
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,950±$99Lowest 11% above MA	$1,958±$102Highest 11% above MA
	Wakefield and Peabody are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$5,065Lowest 15% below MA	$7,779Highest 30% above MA
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	58.3%±5.9Highest MA: 51.8%	43.7%±7.9Lowest MA: 51.8%
Below poverty line	7.7%Highest MA: 10%	4.9%Lowest MA: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	65.6%Lowest MA: 62.5%	70.7%Highest MA: 62.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1966Highest 2 yrs newer than MA	1956Lowest 8 yrs older than MA
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	26 minLowest 11% below MA	33 minHighest 14% above MA
Work from home	10.3%±1.6Lowest MA: 18.6%	24.6%±3.1Highest MA: 18.6%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#228 of 282 in MA	#179 of 282 in MA
School district	Peabody	Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational Technical · Wakefield
High school in town	Peabody Veterans Memorial High	Northeast Metro Regional Vocational
Students per teacherat that high school	10.3Lowest	10.7Highest
On TownTapestry
Old photos in Our Story	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.