What stands out worked out from the figures below

Stow has the most expensive homes ($326k median).

Weld has the highest household income ($62k).

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	Weld
People
Population	535Highest	459Lowest
Median age	57±10.5Lowest 27% above ME	64±6.7Highest 43% above ME
	Weld and Stow 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%	17.9%±4.8Highest ME: 18.1%
	Weld and Stow are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	37.9%±17.8Lowest ME: 22.4%	44.4%±12.4Highest ME: 22.4%
	Weld and Stow 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%	42.1%Highest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	3%±1.2Highest ME: 5.8%	1.7%±2.8Lowest ME: 5.8%
	Stow and Weld 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	$62,083±$11kHighest 17% below ME
	Weld 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	$268,600±$17kLowest 9% below ME
	Stow and Weld are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$3,304Highest 9% above ME	$1,308Lowest 57% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	20%±100Highest ME: 48.4%	0%±100Lowest ME: 48.4%
	Stow and Weld are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	8.1%Highest ME: 10.7%	6.5%Lowest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	96.2%Highest ME: 74.3%	93.7%Lowest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1998Highest 21 yrs newer than ME	1951Lowest 26 yrs older than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	51 minHighest 109% above ME	30 minLowest 21% above ME
Work from home	17.7%±12Highest ME: 15.9%	15.6%±8.4Lowest ME: 15.9%
	Stow and Weld are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
On TownTapestry
Old photos in Our Story	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.