Find a neighborhood that feels like you.
Where a grocery run is realistic on foot — or at least with fewer car trips. Official Boston planning neighborhoods, counted inside 800 meters.
We count groceries, cafes, parks, and transit stops inside 800 meters of each official planning neighborhood. It is an errand map, not a Walk Score license, and not a vibe contest. Rankings stay inside Boston.
10 of 20
Data period. ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · BPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM Sep 2026. ACS and BPD retrieved 2026-09-10; OSM retrieved 2026-09-10. Editorial copy last revised Sep 2026.
Top 10 of 20 official planning neighborhoods. Same order for every reader. Fit is a number inside Boston only.
| # | Neighborhood | Fit | Rent | Schools | Safety | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dorchester | 71 | $1,812 | 14 | 21 | 100 |
| 2 | East Boston | 66 | $1,918 | 29 | 58 | 65 |
| 3 | Downtown | 63 | $2,448 | 21 | 5 | 62 |
| 4 | Beacon Hill | 60 | $2,492 | 100 | 42 | 34 |
| 5 | North End | 56 | $2,728 | 57 | 95 | 25 |
| 6 | Brighton | 51 | $2,238 | 50 | 79 | 26 |
| 7 | Roxbury | 50 | $1,278 | 4 | 16 | 50 |
| 8 | West Roxbury | 50 | $1,941 | 93 | 84 | 19 |
| 9 | Back Bay | 46 | $2,853 | 93 | 0 | 26 |
| 10 | Jamaica Plain | 46 | $2,128 | 75 | 37 | 23 |
$2K ACS median rent
The largest official neighborhood in the set. Dot Ave, Savin Hill, Fields Corner, and Ashmont are searches inside one BPDA line. A median here hides a lot of different 10 p.m.s.
Stuck between these two? Dorchester vs East Boston
$2K ACS median rent
Eastie: the airport, the water taxi, and streets that still feel like a neighborhood that was not supposed to get this expensive. Maverick and Orient Heights are the T stops.
Stuck between these two? East Boston vs Downtown
$2K ACS median rent
Downtown Crossing, the Common’s other edge, Chinatown and the Leather District as search terms. Walk maxes out. Part I is padded by people who do not sleep here.
Stuck between these two? Downtown vs Beacon Hill
$2K ACS 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.
Stuck between these two? Beacon Hill vs North End
$3K ACS median rent
Hanover Street is the postcard. The alleys are where people actually live. You will hear the tourists. You will also walk to a grocery if you picked the right block.
Stuck between these two? North End vs Brighton
$2K ACS 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.
Stuck between these two? Brighton vs Roxbury
$1K ACS median rent
Dudley, Nubian Square, and a lot of city history in one official line. New infill sits next to older streets. Weight the numbers honestly; do not skip the page.
Stuck between these two? Roxbury vs West Roxbury
$2K ACS median rent
The most house-like official neighborhood in this Boston set. Centre Street, lawns, and a drive to almost every night that is not a pizza. Weight family and safety.
Stuck between these two? West Roxbury vs Back Bay
$3K ACS 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.
Stuck between these two? Back Bay vs Jamaica Plain
$2K ACS median rent
JP: the Pond, Centre Street, and the first stop for people who want a porch without leaving the city line. The Southwest Corridor is the spine.
Same list, said in questions. The numbers are in the table.
Who can do more of a week on foot. We count mapped groceries, cafes, parks, and transit inside 800 meters — an errand map, not a Walk Score license.
Dorchester wins the errand count — walk 100 vs 65 in East Boston. Groceries within 800 meters: 24 vs 66.
The family list pays for nearby schools and a quieter map. This one pays for the grocery and the transit stop. A lawn with a long drive can win families and lose here.
Charlestown is official and still off this top 10. Walk 4 — groceries 5, transit 78 inside 800 meters. A bigger yard can lose to a shorter shop.
No. Hyde Park in Austin is not Hyde Park in Chicago. A 72 here is a rank inside this city’s official planning neighborhoods, not a grade you can carry across a state line.
ACS median gross rent among these 10 areas runs $1,278 to $2,853. Five-year survey, studios through large apartments mixed together — not a listing you can message tonight.
Everyone sees this order so the list is arguable. Set your own weights · Method.