What stands out worked out from the figures below

Weston has the shortest commute (18 min average).

Waltham has the most people working from home (13.4%).

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	Weston	Waltham
People
Population	275Lowest	346Highest
Median age	55.1±14Lowest 23% above ME	56.4±9.3Highest 26% above ME
	Waltham and Weston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	14.9%±7.2Lowest ME: 18.1%	15%±8.1Highest ME: 18.1%
	Waltham and Weston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	21.8%±4.3Lowest ME: 22.4%	32.9%±4.7Highest ME: 22.4%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	23.3%Highest ME: 36.2%	22.8%Lowest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	1.5%±4.5Lowest ME: 5.8%	1.7%±3.5Highest ME: 5.8%
	Waltham and Weston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$58,942±$7kLowest 21% below ME	$71,071±$14kHighest 5% below ME
	Waltham and Weston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$171,700±$26kLowest 42% below ME	$181,300±$22kHighest 39% below ME
	Waltham and Weston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	—	$850±$567 25% below ME
Property taxmedian, yearly	$1,500Highest 51% below ME	$1,452Lowest 52% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	100%±100Highest ME: 48.4%	15%±96.7Lowest ME: 48.4%
	Weston and Waltham are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	19.6%Lowest ME: 10.7%	19.7%Highest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	93.1%Highest ME: 74.3%	85.2%Lowest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1990Highest 13 yrs newer than ME	1986Lowest 9 yrs newer than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	18 minLowest 28% below ME	41 minHighest 67% above ME
Work from home	11.1%±12.7Lowest ME: 15.9%	13.4%±6.1Highest ME: 15.9%
	Waltham and Weston 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.