50fit
Roxbury
$1K 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.
Family streetsWalk 50Safety 16
Boston/Jamaica Plain
46fit
Jamaica Plain
Official planning neighborhood: Jamaica Plain
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · BPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM Sep 2026 · updated Sep 2026
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.
jpjamaica pondcentre street jp
Best in Boston for familiesWalkable BostonUnder $2,500 rent
Why this score
Safety
37
82 violent · 642 property · 16.4 per 1k (Oct 2025 – Sep 2026)-13 vs city set
Schools
75
Rating 7.5 / 10 nearby+27 vs city set
Walk
23
OSM: 18 groceries · 12 cafes · 119 transit · 60 parks-4 vs city set
Cost
100
$2,128 ACS median vs your rent budget+7 vs city set
Vibe
27
OSM: 12 cafes · 48 restaurants · 9 bars · 60 parks-6 vs city set
Commute to work
From Jamaica Plain, a typical weekday is 22 min to Downtown, 26 min to Seaport, 14 min to Longwood. Not live traffic.
Longwood is the fastest of these three job centers from here.
Downtown
22 min
Downtown Crossing, Financial District · +6 min vs the city-set median
Seaport
26 min
Innovation District, the waterfront · +7 min vs the city-set median
Longwood
14 min
Hospitals, medical offices · -4 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 $2,128 — every occupied rental mixed together, not the 1-bed in the window.
That is 19% of median household income — under the 30% HUD line. A household at this area’s median income ($134K) could “afford” about $3,358 a month at 30% of pay.
56% of households rent. Median home value is $843,190.
ACS median rent
$2,128
30% income budget
$3,358
Rent / income
19%
Median home
$843,190
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Boston city. Up 65% since 2014. Jamaica Plain is 1% below 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: 18 groceries, 12 cafes, 60 parks, and 119 transit stops.
Daily errands and coffee are realistic on foot. Parks are close — 60 mapped parks in that radius. Transit is dense (119 stops or stations).
12 cafes and 48 restaurants make this one of the busier food pockets in the Boston set.
OpenStreetMap, 800 meters. Not a Walk Score license. More groceries than 14 of the other 19 areas in this city.
Population
44,235
Median age
36.4
Median income
$134K
Renters
56%
Bachelor+
71%
Violent / 1k
1.9
Property / 1k
14.5
ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · 17 census tracts · BPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM 2026-09-10
Family streetsWaterfront
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.
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. Jamaica Pond is the water. The Orange Line is the commute.
Weight family and walk. South End is the brownstone upgrade closer to downtown. Roslindale is the next village south if the porch mattered more than the bar. Mission Hill is the hospital hill north.
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 Jamaica Plain.
Last 90 days, snapshot 2026-09-01. Method.
Common questions
Straight answers from the numbers on this page.
Is Jamaica Plain safe?
Jamaica Plain shows more Part I than most of this Boston set (safety 37 vs city 50). BPD logged 1.9 violent and 14.5 property incidents per 1,000 residents — 16.4 combined. Visitors count in those numbers. This is not a judgment of who lives here.
What is rent in Jamaica Plain?
ACS median rent is $2,128 — studios through large apartments mixed together. About 56% of households rent. Median home value is $843,190. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Jamaica Plain walkable?
Walk is 23 here vs 27 for the Boston set — you will likely drive or ride for a weekly shop. Inside 800 meters: 18 groceries, 12 cafes, 119 transit stops, 60 parks. Not a Walk Score license.
Is Jamaica Plain good for families?
The scores lean family relative to this city set. Nearby school rating is 7.5 / 10. Median age is 36.4. That rating is not your assigned campus.
How long is the commute from Jamaica Plain?
22 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 Jamaica Plain?
About 44,235 people. Median income $134K. 71% have a bachelor's or higher.
What neighborhoods are next to Jamaica Plain?
Roxbury, Roslindale, Mission Hill sit closest on this map. If you are choosing between two official planning neighborhoods, start with Jamaica Plain vs Roxbury.
Next door
Adjacent on the map, ranked with your weights.
Jamaica Plain vs RoxburyJamaica Plain vs RoslindaleJamaica Plain vs Mission Hill
50fit
West Roxbury
$2K 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.
Family streetsWalk 19Safety 84
43fit
Roslindale
$2K median rent
Rozzie Square is the village. The Arnold Arboretum is the park you share with JP. More house than South End, less trip than West Roxbury.
Family streetsWalk 5Safety 100
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
28fit
Mattapan
$2K median rent
The southern T. More Caribbean grocers than cafes. Cost is the point relative to this Boston set. Weight family and budget, not a night out.
Family streetsWalk 0Safety 53