Massachusetts cities

The best places to live in Massachusetts

Massachusetts's largest cities ranked on cost, safety, schools, jobs and quality of life. Braintree Town leads the list.

We scored Massachusetts's cities on the same factors as our state rankings, then ranked them. Below are the 10 largest by population. Two scores per city: value (what you get for the cost) and overall livability (everything combined). Tap any city for its full profile.

#CityMedian homeRentValueOverall
36 Cambridge $888,000 $2,388 32 52
51 Worcester $259,800 $1,179 55 42
59 Brockton $307,600 $1,311 38 36
66 Lowell $312,600 $1,311 36 32
71 Boston $610,400 $1,783 12 30
72 Lynn $378,400 $1,343 22 30
73 Quincy $481,600 $1,749 24 27
76 Fall River $282,500 $918 14 22
79 New Bedford $258,300 $936 23 18
80 Springfield $168,700 $964 38 17

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Sources: Home prices and rent from Zillow; income and jobs from the U.S. Census; schools from state education data; crime from the FBI; air quality from the EPA. Rankings are within Massachusetts. Updated 2026.