What the Boston data shows
This report makes the map's underlying coverage, summary statistics, methodology and limitations readable without requiring JavaScript. Values describe geographic areas, not individual people or properties.
Metro snapshot
The published Boston map covers 5 counties (Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk) and 55 named city areas with enough mapped tracts for stable comparisons. The median mapped tract has a home value of $655K, monthly rent of $2,040, and household income of $120K. Its median bachelor's-degree share is 53%, and its median poverty estimate is 8%.
Selected city-area comparisons
| City area | Tracts | Sale-price estimate | Home value | Household income | Monthly rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowell | 26 | $444K | $405K | $78K | $1,665 |
| Chelsea | 9 | $479K | $475K | $75K | $1,862 |
| Haverhill | 14 | $522K | $444K | $91K | $1,684 |
| Wellesley | 6 | $2.48M | $1.60M | $246K | $3,256 |
| Lexington | 6 | $1.75M | $1.22M | $244K | $2,791 |
| Needham | 6 | $1.71M | $1.20M | $217K | $2,584 |
Additional city-area findings
- Among qualifying city areas, Wellesley has the highest median household income ($246K); Lawrence has the lowest ($58K).
- Among qualifying city areas, Wellesley has the highest median home value ($1.60M); Lowell has the lowest ($405K).
- Among qualifying city areas, Wellesley has the highest median monthly rent ($3,256); Gloucester has the lowest ($1,451).
How to interpret the map
Choose a metric, then hover or select a census tract to see its profile. Census figures are multi-year survey estimates and carry margins of error. Housing-market figures are ZIP-level Redfin aggregates associated with tracts for geographic comparison; they are not individual transactions. School points show reported performance and locations, not attendance boundaries. Crime and local-government coverage varies because agencies publish different datasets.
The composite “Neighborhood strengths” and “Hardship indicators” layers summarize multiple housing, education, income and safety measures. Race and ethnicity are available as separate descriptive Census layers and are not inputs to those composite scores. Read the full formulas and review standards on the methodology page.
Coverage and update notes
This build exposes 84 mapped measures and cites 10 primary or established data providers. It was generated on 2026-08-03. A metro is published only after geometry, population, housing, market, health and hazard coverage pass the site's documented quality gate; unavailable local layers are identified instead of being displayed as zero.
Sources used for Boston
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS 2020–2024) — Population, income, housing, education, race, commute and utility costs — 5-year census-tract estimates.
- U.S. Census Bureau — TIGER / cartographic boundaries — Census tract, place and county geometry; water areas and primary roads.
- CDC — PLACES (Local Data for Better Health) — December 2025 release: model-based tract health estimates, mostly using 2023 BRFSS observations; older compatible values fill states omitted from the current behavioral measures.
- Redfin — Data Center — Housing-market metrics by ZIP (median sale price, days on market, sale-to-list). MLS-derived aggregates, not listing-level data. Data source: Redfin.
- Urban Institute Education Data / NCES — NCES school directory (2022) and harmonized EDFacts proficiency (2018); California scores are replaced by CAASPP 2025 where available. Locations do not represent attendance boundaries.
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) — Roads, rail transit, parks, public facilities, and restaurant/café/bar locations (the “food-and-drink access” density signal — locations only, not review scores).
- U.S. EPA — ECHO & Toxics Release Inventory — Environmental enforcement/compliance records and toxic-release facilities (the toxic-release-sites and pollution-violations maps).
- Eviction Lab, Princeton University (ODC-BY) — Tract-level eviction filing rates from validated court records, 2000–2018.
- FEMA — National Risk Index (v1.20, Dec 2025) — Tract-level natural-hazard risk scores (flood, wildfire, earthquake, tornado, hurricane, heat wave) on FEMA's 0–100 national scale.
- City police departments — open-data incident feeds — Geocoded crime incidents published by Boston (≈12-month window). Tract rates are annualized per-capita counts; suburbs without a public feed show no data rather than a misleading zero.
See the sitewide data-source guide for licensing, update cadence and limitations. If a figure matters to a purchase, lending or policy decision, verify it with the cited source.