The 10 Richest Cities In Massachusetts For 2024


The richest cities in Massachusetts are Newton and Cambridge for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

The baked beans in Massachusetts are rich, the clam chowder here is rich, and if the Boston Tea Party hadn’t happened, there would be even more Bay Staters who are rich.

Harvard University in Cambridge is not only one of the best universities in the country, but it has produced more billionaires than the Massachusetts lottery. Those smart, wealthy Harvard graduates aren’t leaving after graduation because Massachusetts is one of the fastest-growing states in America.

Of note, many of Massachusetts’s richest places are also some of the state’s safest.

However, if you want to live like the ‘one percent’ in Massachusetts’ wealthiest places, you’ll need to make at least $113,443/year. The state is, after all, one of the richest states in the country.

To see what Massachusetts cities made the cut, keep reading.


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


Richest Cities In Massachusetts Map

Many cities in Massachusetts ooze obnoxious wealth, so to narrow down our list, we looked at the latest Census and Zillow data for the 52 Massachusetts cities with more than 12,000 residents.

What is the richest place in Massachusetts for 2024? According to the latest data, Newton is the richest place in Massachusetts.

Look below to see a list of the other cities that made this list. And if you have some time on your hands, see how the other 99% live in this state.

Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about Massachusetts:

The 10 Richest Cities In Massachusetts For 2024

1. Newton

Newton, MA

Source: Wikipedia User John Phelan | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 88,453
Median Income: $176,373
Median Home Values: $1,367,720
More on Newton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

2. Cambridge

Cambridge, MA

Source: Flickr User EandJsFilmCrew | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 117,962
Median Income: $121,539
Median Home Values: $946,296
More on Cambridge: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

3. Newburyport

Newburyport, MA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 18,356
Median Income: $127,306
Median Home Values: $820,037
More on Newburyport: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

4. Somerville

Somerville, MA

Source: Flickr User JoeInSouthernCA | CC BY-ND 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 80,464
Median Income: $120,778
Median Home Values: $878,789
More on Somerville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

5. Melrose

Melrose, MA

Source: Wikipedia User | CC-BY-SA-3.0
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 29,477
Median Income: $126,305
Median Home Values: $819,404
More on Melrose: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

6. Watertown Town

Watertown Town, MA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 35,181
Median Income: $117,625
Median Home Values: $879,191
More on Watertown Town: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

7. Braintree Town

Braintree Town, MA

Source: Wikipedia User John Phelan | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 38,748
Median Income: $120,593
Median Home Values: $726,733
More on Braintree Town: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

8. Medford

Medford, MA

Source: Wikipedia User John Phelan | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 61,748
Median Income: $114,863
Median Home Values: $753,975
More on Medford: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

9. Franklin Town

Franklin Town, MA

Source: Wikipedia User John Phelan | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 32,777
Median Income: $138,062
Median Home Values: $628,950
More on Franklin Town: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

10. Waltham

Waltham, MA

Source: Wikipedia User Tim Pierce | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 64,711
Median Income: $113,443
Median Home Values: $747,940
More on Waltham: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Methodology: How We Determined The Richest Places In Massachusetts For 2024

Map Of The Richest Places To Live In Massachusetts
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the richest places is simply identifying personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.

However, we don’t believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “richest places.” So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2018-2022 American Community Survey and applied Saturday Night Science:

  • Median Home Values
  • Median Household Income

Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place is. And home values are a measure of wealth. The two combine to define a “Rich City.”

After we collected the data for all 52 places with more than 12,000 people in Massachusetts, we ranked each place from 1 to 52 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.

We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Rich Score,” with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, Newton, crowned the “Richest City In Massachusetts For 2024.”

The data has been updated for 2024. This is our tenth time ranking the wealthiest cities in Massachusetts.

You can skip to the end to see the rankings for all 52 places.

Summary: The Wealthiest Places In Massachusetts For 2024

Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest places in Massachusetts, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Massachusetts.

The richest cities in Massachusetts are Newton, Cambridge, Newburyport, Somerville, Melrose, Watertown Town, Braintree Town, Medford, Franklin Town, and Waltham.

When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.

If you’re curious enough, here are the poorest cities in Massachusetts, according to data:

Poorest: Springfield
2nd Poorest: North Adams
3rd Poorest: Holyoke

For more Massachusetts reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In Massachusetts

Rank City RichScore Median Income Average Home Price
1 Newton 1.0 $176,373 $1,367,720
2 Cambridge 3.5 $121,539 $946,296
3 Newburyport 4.0 $127,306 $820,037
4 Somerville 5.0 $120,778 $878,789
5 Melrose 5.0 $126,305 $819,404
6 Watertown Town 5.5 $117,625 $879,191
7 Braintree Town 8.0 $120,593 $726,733
8 Medford 8.0 $114,863 $753,975
9 Franklin Town 8.5 $138,062 $628,950
10 Waltham 9.0 $113,443 $747,940
11 Winthrop Town 12.0 $98,901 $685,696
12 Beverly 12.5 $99,525 $671,453
13 Woburn 12.5 $104,780 $670,017
14 Boston 16.5 $89,212 $714,795
15 Barnstable Town 17.0 $94,387 $607,275
16 Weymouth Town 17.0 $95,879 $571,474
17 Peabody 17.5 $91,125 $628,178
18 Gloucester 18.0 $84,465 $684,078
19 Quincy 19.0 $90,668 $617,826
20 Malden 20.0 $90,295 $609,995
21 Methuen Town 20.5 $93,681 $535,186
22 Marlborough 21.0 $94,199 $521,510
23 Amesbury Town 22.5 $91,010 $530,193
24 Attleboro 24.0 $91,378 $476,170
25 Salem 25.5 $79,196 $556,514
26 Revere 25.5 $78,968 $558,745
27 Everett 26.0 $77,796 $567,525
28 Haverhill 27.0 $81,989 $479,045
29 Northampton 29.5 $80,981 $439,136
30 Lynn 32.5 $70,046 $511,699
31 Chelsea 32.5 $71,051 $483,659
32 Brockton 32.5 $74,016 $455,030
33 Taunton 33.5 $72,782 $455,672
34 Leominster 34.0 $75,620 $413,118
35 Lowell 35.0 $73,008 $435,128
36 Agawam Town 36.0 $80,809 $331,340
37 Westfield 36.5 $78,307 $336,401
38 Easthampton Town 38.0 $67,329 $403,186
39 West Springfield Town 40.5 $67,297 $358,495
40 Worcester 41.0 $63,011 $392,447
41 Lawrence 41.0 $53,977 $436,042
42 Palmer Town 41.5 $73,568 $282,875
43 Fitchburg 42.0 $65,963 $357,162
44 New Bedford 43.5 $54,604 $380,670
45 Fall River 44.0 $52,734 $390,416
46 Gardner 44.5 $56,974 $331,761
47 Pittsfield 44.5 $66,859 $283,475
48 Southbridge Town 46.0 $55,182 $310,152
49 Chicopee 46.5 $63,866 $281,474
50 Holyoke 49.0 $49,007 $291,473
51 North Adams 51.0 $49,525 $232,713
52 Springfield 51.5 $47,677 $262,369
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.