What stands out worked out from the figures below

Waltham has the most people working from home (20.6%).

Ira has the most affordable homes ($273k 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	Waltham	Ira
People
Population	452Highest	381Lowest
Median age	60.8±7.3Highest 41% above VT	54.1±5.5Lowest 26% above VT
	Waltham and Ira are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	12.8%±7.4Highest VT: 17.9%	10.5%±4.7Lowest VT: 17.9%
	Waltham and Ira are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	45.4%±3.1Highest VT: 21.4%	28.9%±3.3Lowest VT: 21.4%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	39%Highest VT: 43.8%	37.1%Lowest VT: 43.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	3.1%±2.1Lowest VT: 7%	3.4%±3.5Highest VT: 7%
	Ira and Waltham are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$97,500±$14kHighest 20% above VT	$71,827±$5kLowest 12% below VT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$329,700±$51kHighest 4% above VT	$272,900±$18kLowest 14% below VT
	Waltham and Ira are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,096±$113Highest 11% below VT	$942±$52Lowest 24% below VT
	Waltham and Ira are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$5,714Highest 13% above VT	$4,146Lowest 18% below VT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	29.2%±58.6Lowest VT: 48.4%	36.4%±100Highest VT: 48.4%
	Ira and Waltham are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	5.3%Lowest VT: 10.1%	14.4%Highest VT: 10.1%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	86.3%Lowest VT: 73.2%	90.7%Highest VT: 73.2%
Typical home builtmedian year	1986Highest 10 yrs newer than VT	1975Lowest 1 yr older than VT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	28 minLowest 18% above VT	28 minHighest 20% above VT
Work from home	20.6%±5.7Highest VT: 16.9%	2.3%±2.2Lowest VT: 16.9%
On TownTapestry
Old photos in Our Story	None yet	None yet

VT 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.