58fit
Beacon Hill
$2K median rent
Gas lamps, brick, and a hill that actually is a hill. Charles Street is the errand. The Common is the lawn. Quieter than Back Bay, tighter than it looks on a map.
Family streetsWalk 34Safety 42
Boston/Allston
43fit
Allston
Official planning neighborhood: Allston
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · BPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM Sep 2026 · updated Sep 2026
Harvard Ave and Brighton Ave are the night. Students, late buses, and a rent that still undercuts Back Bay. Brookline is the next city over, not this official polygon.
harvard avebrighton ave
Best in Boston for familiesWalkable BostonUnder $2,500 rent
Why this score
Safety
74
30 violent · 194 property · 10.4 per 1k (Oct 2025 – Sep 2026)+24 vs city set
Schools
29
Rating 6.2 / 10 nearby-19 vs city set
Walk
16
OSM: 28 groceries · 24 cafes · 71 transit · 27 parks-11 vs city set
Cost
89
$2,471 ACS median vs your rent budget-4 vs city set
Vibe
29
OSM: 24 cafes · 122 restaurants · 7 bars · 27 parks-4 vs city set
Commute to work
From Allston, a typical weekday is 24 min to Downtown, 32 min to Seaport, 16 min to Longwood. Not live traffic.
Longwood is the fastest of these three job centers from here.
Downtown
24 min
Downtown Crossing, Financial District · +8 min vs the city-set median
Seaport
32 min
Innovation District, the waterfront · +13 min vs the city-set median
Longwood
16 min
Hospitals, medical offices · -2 min vs the city-set median · fastest of these three
Minutes are baked from neighborhood geography to three job centers — not Google, not this hour’s traffic.
Cost of living
The ACS median rent is $2,471 — every occupied rental mixed together, not the 1-bed in the window.
That is 38% of median household income — over the 30% HUD line. A household at this area’s median income ($78K) could “afford” about $1,957 a month at 30% of pay.
89% of households rent. Median home value is $678,174.
ACS median rent
$2,471
30% income budget
$1,957
Rent / income
38%
Median home
$678,174
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Boston city. Up 65% since 2014. Allston is 15% above the 2024 city median.
Overlapping 5-year ACS windows (B25064), not asking rent. Census does not publish a rent series for each official neighborhood, so the line is the city place. The dashed mark is this area’s ACS 2024 median.
HUD treats 30% of income as the cost-burden line. We do not split ACS rent into 1-bed vs 2-bed. Method.
Within a walk
Within a short walk of this official planning neighborhood: 28 groceries, 24 cafes, 27 parks, and 71 transit stops.
Daily errands and coffee are realistic on foot. Parks are close — 27 mapped parks in that radius. Transit is dense (71 stops or stations).
24 cafes and 122 restaurants make this one of the busier food pockets in the Boston set.
OpenStreetMap, 800 meters. Not a Walk Score license. More groceries than 18 of the other 19 areas in this city.
Population
21,650
Median age
27
Median income
$78K
Renters
89%
Bachelor+
73%
Violent / 1k
1.4
Property / 1k
9.0
ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · 8 census tracts · BPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM 2026-09-10
NightlifeNear UT
Crime is BPD Part I reports per 1,000 ACS residents — not a judgment of who lives here. Home and rent figures are ACS medians, not live MLS. Read the method.
On the ground
What it is like to live here, beyond the scores.
Harvard Ave and Brighton Ave are the night. Students, late buses, and a rent that still undercuts Back Bay. The official polygon stops at Brookline. Packing Hill and Lower Allston are searches inside this line, not extra maps.
Median age is the tell — this is a first-Boston neighborhood more than a stay-forever one. Weight nightlife and the Longwood commute. Brighton is the same student river with more two-families. Fenway is the other campus night.
Compiled from Zillow neighborhood guides, 5280 Magazine, Chicago and San Francisco resident guides, Mpls With Love, Eastside LA reporting, Seattle Times coverage, Boston planning-neighborhood writing, and local writing, 2025–2026. Editorial — not part of the fit score.
On Reddit
Public posts from r/boston that mention this neighborhood. Not Nextdoor, not people on this block, and not part of the fit score.
No r/boston posts in this snapshot mentioned Allston.
Last 90 days, snapshot 2026-09-01. Method.
Common questions
Straight answers from the numbers on this page.
Is Allston safe?
Allston sits on the quieter side of this Boston map (safety 74 vs city 50). BPD logged 1.4 violent and 9.0 property incidents per 1,000 residents — 10.4 combined. Visitors count in those numbers. This is not a judgment of who lives here.
What is rent in Allston?
ACS median rent is $2,471 — studios through large apartments mixed together. About 89% of households rent. Median home value is $678,174. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Allston walkable?
Walk is 16 here vs 27 for the Boston set — you will likely drive or ride for a weekly shop. Inside 800 meters: 28 groceries, 24 cafes, 71 transit stops, 27 parks. Not a Walk Score license.
Is Allston good for families?
There is more night and visitor traffic in the mix — not the quietest family default. Nearby school rating is 6.2 / 10. Median age is 27. That rating is not your assigned campus.
How long is the commute from Allston?
24 typical weekday minutes to Downtown. Not the app on your phone this hour. Other job centers are further down this page.
How many people live in Allston?
About 21,650 people. Median income $78K. 73% have a bachelor's or higher.
What neighborhoods are next to Allston?
Fenway, Brighton, Back Bay sit closest on this map. If you are choosing between two official planning neighborhoods, start with Allston vs Fenway.
Next door
Adjacent on the map, ranked with your weights.
Allston vs FenwayAllston vs BrightonAllston vs Back Bay
50fit
Brighton
$2K median rent
The western end of the same student river as Allston, with more two-families. Cleveland Circle and Oak Square are the searches. You will ride the B or C more than you walk downtown.
Near UTFamily streetsWalk 26Safety 79
44fit
Back Bay
$3K median rent
Newbury, the brownstones, the Public Garden. Bay Village is a search term that sits inside the same planning neighborhood. You pay for the postcard and for the visitors who shop it.
NightlifeWalk 26Safety 0
43fit
Fenway
$2K median rent
The park, the students, Kenmore, and Longwood as a search that actually sits next door. Game day is a tax. The rest of the week is apartments and hospitals.
NightlifeNear UTWalk 19Safety 47
34fit
Mission Hill
$2K median rent
The hill above the Longwood hospitals. Students, brick, and a walk to the Fens. Quieter than Fenway’s bars, tighter than JP’s porches.
Near UTWalk 0Safety 68