What stands out worked out from the figures below

Stow has the most people working from home (17.7%).

Sweden has the highest household income ($74k).

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	Stow	Sweden
People
Population	535Lowest	537Highest
Median age	57±10.5Highest 27% above ME	51.1±19.2Lowest 14% above ME
	Stow and Sweden are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	15.7%±5.7Lowest ME: 18.1%	21.8%±5.5Highest ME: 18.1%
	Sweden and Stow are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	37.9%±17.8Highest ME: 22.4%	20.3%±8Lowest ME: 22.4%
	Stow and Sweden are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	33.4%Lowest ME: 36.2%	34.5%Highest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	3%±1.2Highest ME: 5.8%	2.6%±2.7Lowest ME: 5.8%
	Stow and Sweden are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$42,204±$22kLowest 44% below ME	$73,750±$25kHighest about the ME average
	Sweden and Stow are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$326,400±$42kHighest 10% above ME	$311,300±$61kLowest 5% above ME
	Stow and Sweden are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	—	$1,667±$815 46% above ME
Property taxmedian, yearly	$3,304Highest 9% above ME	$2,598Lowest 14% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	20%±100Highest ME: 48.4%	8.3%±100Lowest ME: 48.4%
	Stow and Sweden are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	8.1%Lowest ME: 10.7%	14.7%Highest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	96.2%Highest ME: 74.3%	92.2%Lowest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1998Highest 21 yrs newer than ME	1982Lowest 5 yrs newer than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	51 minHighest 109% above ME	31 minLowest 25% above ME
Work from home	17.7%±12Highest ME: 15.9%	9.5%±3.9Lowest ME: 15.9%
	Stow and Sweden are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
On TownTapestry
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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.