What stands out worked out from the figures below

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

Medford has the most affordable homes ($88k 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	Springfield	Medford
People
Population	310Highest	222Lowest
Median age	52.4±7Highest 17% above ME	50.5±8.8Lowest 13% 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	18.1%±5.6Highest ME: 18.1%	3.2%±11.3Lowest 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+	21.6%±5.4Highest ME: 22.4%	20.7%±9.6Lowest 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+	17.3%Highest ME: 36.2%	10.8%Lowest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	0.6%±3.7Lowest ME: 5.8%	3.6%±6Highest 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	$60,833±$23kLowest 19% below ME	$65,476±$14kHighest 12% 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	$122,500±$28kHighest 59% below ME	$88,200±$27kLowest 70% 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	$1,067Lowest 65% below ME	$1,250Highest 59% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	—	0%±100 ME: 48.4%
Below poverty line	5.5%Lowest ME: 10.7%	11.3%Highest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	96.2%Lowest ME: 74.3%	97.7%Highest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1987Highest 10 yrs newer than ME	1978Lowest 1 yr newer than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	30 minHighest 21% above ME	26 minLowest 6% above ME
Work from home	9.6%±5.2Highest ME: 15.9%	7.7%±5Lowest 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.