Somerville is #1 in Massachusetts for walkable streets
Somerville is ranked on 35 lists against the 284 Massachusetts towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 2 and the top quarter on 8.
A podium finish, and more
Each list ranks every MA town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Somerville marked.
Fewer seniors than 100% of Massachusetts
Not better or worse, just Somerville’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
1 spot from the top 3 for affordable rent
Lists where Somerville sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Somerville lands in the top half on 14 of 26 lists
Each dot is Somerville’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in MA, the right end is last. Areas where Somerville does best come first.
Somerville out-ranks 3 of its 5 ranked neighbors
Head to head on the lists where both towns are ranked: a point for each list where one town places higher. Tap a town for its own rankings.
Where Somerville lands in every MA ranking
41 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
Health
D Healthiest#1 Dover · 100 / 100 #72
Lowest obesity#1 Amherst Town · 19%
#24
Fewest smokers#1 Lexington · 6%
#32
D
Most active#1 Dover · 12%
#30
Fewest uninsured#1 Manchester-by-the-Sea · 2%
#116
Lowest depression#1 Lexington · 20%
#230
Closest to a top hospital#1 Milford · 0.0 mi
#13 
People
Most educated#1 Wellesley · 89%
#44
Youngest#1 Amherst Town · 21.4
#4
Oldest#1 Orleans · 64.7
#281
Most residents 65+#1 Orleans · 49.3%
#284
Most kids#1 Hopkinton · 29.5%
#279 Cost of living
Most affordable#1 North Adams · 1.9 yrs
#253
Cheapest rent#1 Plympton · $555/mo
#265
D
Lowest property tax#1 Dennis · $2,877/yr
#145
Rent easiest to afford#1 Uxbridge · 25.6%
#4 Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 Provincetown · 27.5 per resident
#94
Most library borrowing#1 West Tisbury · 34.6 per resident
#178
Best libraries for kids#1 West Tisbury · 115.2 per child
#100 
Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Provincetown · 68.4%
#274
Most trails#1 Stoneham · 5.9 mi / sq mi
#260
Most walkable#1 Somerville · 306 / sq mi
#1 Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Edgartown · 11.5 min
#159 
The number on the right is Somerville’s spot. All of Massachusetts’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every MA list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.