There are all types when it comes to being a snob in Massachusetts. You’ve got your Wine Snobs, Book Snobs, and, of course, Clothes Snobs. Then there are the Technology Snobs, Car Snobs, and yes, even City Snobs — as in, I’m better than you because I live in (insert snooty city here).
How can we tell which Massachusetts cities are the snobbiest? By measuring snobby things, that’s how.
We used Saturday Night Science to look at things like expensive homes, high incomes, and overly educated populations by city in Massachusetts. These are the criteria you’d argue with a friend over a foodie dinner about who’s snobbier.
After analyzing 39 of the state’s most populous areas over 12,000 people, we came up with this ranking of the ten snobbiest places in the state of Massachusetts.
The Bay Stater in these places aren’t snobby, they just know they’re better than you.
$190,304 median income · $1,528,894 median home · #1 income in Massachusetts
Located in
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Newton is a suburban city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately 7 miles west of downtown Boston and is bordered by Boston’s Brighton and West Roxbury neighborhoods to the east and south, respectively, and by the suburb of Brookline to the east, the suburbs of Watertown and Waltham to the north, and Wellesley and Needham to the west. Rather than having a single city center, Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$130,748 median income · $1,041,569 median home · #5 income in Massachusetts
Located in
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and part of the Boston metropolitan area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$132,572 median income · $940,239 median home · #4 income in Massachusetts
Located in
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Somerville is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of 2010, the United States Census lists the city with a total population of 75,754 people, making it the most densely populated municipality in New England. As of 2010, it was the 16th most densely populated incorporated municipality in the country. Somerville was established as a town in 1842, when it was separated from Charlestown. In 2006, the town was named the best-run city in Massachusetts by the Boston Globe. In 1972, in 2009, and again in 2015, the city received the All-America City Award.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$139,625 median income · $923,543 median home · #2 income in Massachusetts
Located in
Essex County, Massachusetts
Newburyport is a small coastal, scenic, and historic city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 35 miles northeast of Boston. The population was 17,416 at the 2010 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mooring, winter storage and maintenance of recreational boats, motor and sail, still contribute a large part of the city’s income. A Coast Guard station oversees boating activity, especially in the swift tidal currents of the Merrimack River.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$133,953 median income · $908,131 median home · #3 income in Massachusetts
Located in
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Melrose is a city located in the Greater Boston metropolitan area in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Its population as per the 2010 United States Census is 26,983. It is a suburb located approximately seven miles north of Boston and is situated in the center of the triangle created by Interstates 93, 95 and US Route 1.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$129,540 median income · $842,298 median home · #6 income in Massachusetts
Located in
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Medford is a city 3.2 miles northwest of downtown Boston on the Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. In the 2010 U.S. Census, Medford’s population was 56,173. It is home to Tufts University.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$120,216 median income · $826,437 median home · #7 income in Massachusetts
Located in
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Waltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, the city was a prototype for 19th century industrial city planning, spawning what became known as the Waltham-Lowell system of labor and production. The city is now a center for research and higher education, home to Brandeis University and Bentley University. The population was 60,636 at the census in 2010.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$97,344 median income · $798,217 median home · #13 income in Massachusetts
Located in
Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Boston BOSS-tn) is the capital city and most populous municipality of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. It is also the seat of Suffolk County, although the county government was disbanded on July 1, 1999. The city proper covers 48 square miles with an estimated population of 673,184 in 2016, making it the largest city in the New England region of the northeastern United States. The city is the economic and cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area known as Greater Boston, a metropolitan statistical area home to a census-estimated 4.8million people in 2016 and ranking as the tenth-largest such area in the country. As a combined statistical area, this wider commuting region is home to some 8.2million people, making it the sixth-largest in the United States.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
$106,044 median income · $755,767 median home · #9 income in Massachusetts
Located in
Essex County, Massachusetts
Coordinates: 423329N 705248W 42.558; -70.880
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$111,185 median income · $758,603 median home · #8 income in Massachusetts
Located in
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Woburn is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 38,120 at the 2010 census. Woburn is located 9 miles north of Boston, Massachusetts.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Massachusetts’s statewide median.
Massachusetts statewide median: $103,960
Massachusetts statewide median: $656,690
On the map
Where the snobs live in Massachusetts
Saturday Night Science
How we determined the snobbiest cities in the Bay State
Do you think we’d just come up with this list willy-nilly? Not a chance – we only use Saturday Night Science around here.
We gathered up all of the places in Massachusetts with populations of 12,000 people or more. This left us with a total of 39 places. Then, we looked at each place in terms of these snoot-er-iffic criteria (And no, it’s not a word. English snob.):
- Median home price (Higher is snobbier)
- Median household income (Higher is snobbier)
- Percent of population with a college degree (Higher is snobbier)
Incomes and college education levels come from the American Community Survey. Home prices come from Zillow.
Turned out this simple criteria was much better at sniffing out the snobby places then more snobby criteria like:
- Libaries per capita (Higher is snobbier)
- Museums per capita (Higher is snobbier)
- Private schools per capita (Higher is snobbier)
From there, we ranked each of our 39 places in each category with scores from one to 39. We then averaged each place’s ranking into one overall score, where the lowest score went to the snobbiest place in Massachusetts. So let’s all flip a table in honor of Newton (with our pinkies up, of course.)
Before you get upset and ruin your blowout or something drastic here, let’s remember that this is all in good fun. Would we live in one of these 10 places if we had the chance? Of course, we would.
And it’s not like your real estate agent would ever point out how snobby the town you’re moving to is. We’re here to keep you grounded, even if you’re wearing a monocle.
The full plate
Table: The Snobbiest Cities In Massachusetts For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Snob Score | Population | Median Income | Average Home Prices | Adult Highly Educated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newton | 1.17 | 89,044 | $190,304 | $1,528,894 | 81.0% |
| 2 | Cambridge | 2.83 | 118,796 | $130,748 | $1,041,569 | 81.0% |
| 3 | Somerville | 3.33 | 81,036 | $132,572 | $940,239 | 70.0% |
| 4 | Newburyport | 3.33 | 18,652 | $139,625 | $923,543 | 67.0% |
| 5 | Melrose | 4.67 | 29,650 | $133,953 | $908,131 | 63.0% |
| 6 | Medford | 6.33 | 59,354 | $129,540 | $842,298 | 60.0% |
| 7 | Waltham | 7.33 | 64,902 | $120,216 | $826,437 | 57.0% |
| 8 | Boston | 10.00 | 666,442 | $97,344 | $798,217 | 55.0% |
| 9 | Beverly | 10.00 | 42,665 | $106,044 | $755,767 | 53.0% |
| 10 | Woburn | 10.33 | 41,939 | $111,185 | $758,603 | 46.0% |
| 11 | Quincy | 12.33 | 102,114 | $98,882 | $675,959 | 50.0% |
| 12 | Malden | 12.33 | 65,906 | $100,606 | $684,055 | 45.0% |
| 13 | Peabody | 14.33 | 54,695 | $96,657 | $694,094 | 36.0% |
| 14 | Gloucester | 15.17 | 30,075 | $83,883 | $760,558 | 40.0% |
| 15 | Salem | 16.33 | 44,795 | $85,153 | $606,559 | 47.0% |
| 16 | Marlborough | 16.50 | 41,647 | $91,968 | $578,934 | 40.0% |
| 17 | Attleboro | 17.17 | 46,762 | $98,954 | $532,570 | 34.0% |
| 18 | Northampton | 18.00 | 30,962 | $80,288 | $486,075 | 63.0% |
| 19 | Haverhill | 19.67 | 67,698 | $88,326 | $543,992 | 32.0% |
| 20 | Revere | 20.67 | 60,012 | $86,969 | $612,971 | 24.0% |
| 21 | Everett | 21.33 | 50,045 | $85,218 | $639,070 | 24.0% |
| 22 | Leominster | 23.83 | 43,909 | $83,816 | $463,494 | 33.0% |
| 23 | Westfield | 23.83 | 40,378 | $87,753 | $378,738 | 33.0% |
| 24 | Lynn | 25.00 | 101,709 | $75,043 | $580,316 | 24.0% |
| 25 | Lowell | 25.67 | 118,368 | $78,658 | $480,319 | 30.0% |
| 26 | Taunton | 26.83 | 60,433 | $79,283 | $513,322 | 23.0% |
| 27 | Worcester | 27.17 | 207,055 | $70,102 | $430,112 | 34.0% |
| 28 | Brockton | 27.67 | 105,386 | $80,115 | $503,833 | 22.0% |
| 29 | Pittsfield | 28.33 | 43,457 | $70,582 | $302,831 | 35.0% |
| 30 | Chelsea | 28.67 | 39,908 | $72,179 | $526,190 | 21.0% |
| 31 | Fitchburg | 28.83 | 41,798 | $73,040 | $396,820 | 25.0% |
| 32 | Lawrence | 31.83 | 88,736 | $60,433 | $504,150 | 17.0% |
| 33 | Gardner | 32.00 | 21,148 | $67,518 | $369,177 | 24.0% |
| 34 | Holyoke | 32.83 | 37,813 | $53,605 | $322,895 | 25.0% |
| 35 | Chicopee | 33.83 | 55,295 | $62,615 | $311,123 | 23.0% |
| 36 | New Bedford | 34.17 | 100,998 | $56,981 | $434,262 | 17.0% |
| 37 | North Adams | 34.33 | 12,606 | $47,500 | $252,589 | 29.0% |
| 38 | Fall River | 34.67 | 94,082 | $56,673 | $445,781 | 16.0% |
| 39 | Springfield | 37.33 | 154,749 | $52,656 | $294,613 | 20.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024, Zillow research. 39 places with more than 12,000 residents.
Summary
There You Have It – Now That You’re On Your High Horse
When it comes to snobbery, these places in Massachusetts are heading ever upward. Residents in these communities are well educated, well paid, and appear to have all the sophisticated culture and entertainment of an Ernst Lubitsch film right at their fingertips.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
The snobbiest cities in Massachusetts are Newton, Cambridge, Somerville, Newburyport, Melrose, Medford, Waltham, Boston, Beverly, and Woburn. Not sold on Massachusetts? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
