The 10 Best Neighborhoods In Boston, MA For 2024

Boston feels like nowhere but Boston. Beantown has its own style and set of rules and this is most evident in the city’s 16 neighborhoods. And undoubtedly while searching for a great neighborhood to buy or rent your forever home, questions will arise. Like, is a neighborhood safe? Is it affordable? Will there be a bunch of other Red Sox fans that live there? You know, the important things. Now, HomeSnacks can’t guarantee you a Red Sox fan on every street (although we’re pretty sure there are a lot); but, we can tell you the top ten best neighborhoods in Boston for 2024.

In any one of Boston’s neighborhoods you’ll be met with genuine and friendly Bostonians ready to help you at the drop of a hat as well as neighborhood watch email chains to keep you informed and safe. So, to narrow down Boston’s best of the best neighborhoods was quite difficult. The neighborhoods that made this list are the ones that find themselves in those fancy hotel magazines under the heading “must see districts” due to their flare and unwavering city pride.

Take for instance, the traditions and annual rituals in the West Roxbury neighborhood make its $576,924 justifiable. If you are looking for a neighborhood with water access, meet-ups, and affordable shopping and entertainment, Charlestown knows how to have fun. And although Central is one of Boston’s wealthiest neighborhoods, (the homes in Central will cost close to 576,924), the upside is that this neighborhood is close to great shopping, restaurants and the I-93.

So, want to know where Boston’s safest, most affordable neighborhoods are located? Keep reading, you’re about to find out.

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

Boston is one of the oldest cities in America. So, The City on the Hill has had a lot of time to perfect what makes it great; and, folks, it starts in its neighborhoods. The fact that it is still one of the fastest growing cities in the country says something about how desirable this city must be. And there’s probably no one who knows this better than the residents in Boston’s number one best neighborhood.

So, what is the best neighborhood in Boston for 2024? According to the latest census data, Charlestown is Boston’s number one.

To see where the rest of Boston’s neighborhoods landed on our list, take a look below. And if you don’t see your favorite there, head to the bottom.

For more Massachusetts reading, check out:

• Best Places To Live In Massachusetts
• Cheapest Places To Live In Massachusetts
• Most Dangerous Cities In Massachusetts

Methodology: How We Determined The Best Boston, MA Neighborhoods In 2024

To rank the best neighborhoods in Boston, we had to determine what criteria define “best” and then apply Saturday Night Science to it.

Using FBI crime, Census, and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:

• High incomes
• Low unemployment rates
• Low crime
• High home prices
• High population densities (A proxy for things to do)

We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 16 in each category, where 1 was the best.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a best neighborhood index.

And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest best neighborhood index, the “Best City Neighborhood In Boston.” We’re lookin’ at you, Charlestown.

Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in the best places Boston, Massachusetts has to offer. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from best to worst.

We updated this article for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best neighborhoods to live in Boston.

Summary: Putting A Bow On Our Analysis Of The Best Neighborhoods In Boston

If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Boston where crime is low and everyone wants to live, this is an accurate list.

The best neighborhoods in Boston are Charlestown, South Boston, Back Bay-Beacon Hill, West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, South End, Roslindale, Central, Allston-Brighton, and East Boston.

As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Boston aren’t all good. Roxbury takes the title of the worst neighborhood to live in Boston.

The worst neighborhoods in Boston are Roxbury, Mattapan, Hyde Park, Fenway-Kenmore, and South Dorchester.

We ranked the neighborhoods from best to worst in the chart below.

For more Massachusetts reading, check out:

• Richest Cities In Massachusetts
• Safest Places In Massachusetts
• Worst Places To Live In Massachusetts

Best Neighborhoods To Live In Boston For 2024 Detailed Data