Cambridge, MA — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Massachusetts·Cambridge

Why look at Cambridge?

  • High-cost housing. Median home is $1.0M — expensive market.
  • Stable market. Home values -1.6% year-over-year — neither overheated nor falling.
  • Higher tax state. Top marginal income tax rate around 9.0% — factor into salary comparisons.
Cambridge, MA
Image: Wikipedia · Cambridge, Massachusetts
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
56
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Cambridge stands

At or near all-time high.

Median home $1,041,988
1-year -1.6%
5-yr growth +2.2%
vs 5-yr peak -1.6%
Population +0.6%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2025-04$1042k$683k$822k$962k$1102k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
100/100
Walker's paradise
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
30/100
Minimal transit
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
55/100
Workable for remote workers
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$3,584/mo$2,523$3,161$3,799202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent112134100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 24.2
Lean rent

At a 24.2 price-to-rent ratio, the math is starting to lean toward renting in Cambridge. Buying makes more sense the longer you plan to stay and the more confident you are that prices will keep appreciating roughly in line with rent.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
42 · w22%
Home 5-yr growth
48 · w22%
Distance from peak
80 · w18%
Population growth
57 · w16%
Rent YoY
59 · w12%
Home 10-yr growth
51 · w10%

About Cambridge (Wikipedia)

Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the most populous city in the county, the fourth-largest in Massachusetts behind Boston, Worcester, and Springfield, and ninth-most populous in New England. The city was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England, which was an important center of the Puritan theology that was embraced by the town's founders.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

MayorSumbul Siddiqui
Area7.10 sq mi
Elevation40 ft
Settled1630
Mottoforce singularnowrap ''Literis Antiquis Novis Institutis Decora'' "
Density18512.04/sq mi
Named forUniversity of Cambridge

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Middlesex County right now.

NWS active alerts (MA)Massachusetts Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Middlesex County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Neighborhoods of Cambridge

12 tracked · ranked by median home value
1West Cambridge$1,673,679+1.4%
2Aggasiz – Harvard North$1,316,827+0.5%
3Strawberry Hill$1,117,573-5.2%
4North Cambridge$1,099,317-2.6%
5Cambridgeport$1,077,297-2.0%
6Wellington-Harrington$1,057,523+5.3%
7Peabody$1,011,476-1.2%
8The Port – Area 4$988,180-1.6%
9Riverside$974,240-3.2%
10Cambridge Highlands$944,444+0.3%
11East Cambridge$929,274+1.5%
12Mid-Cambridge$910,918-0.9%

Run the numbers for Cambridge

ToolCan I afford Cambridge?Income → city shortlistToolCompare Cambridge to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolCambridge cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Massachusetts context

Schools

20 public schools8,325 students9.2:1 student-teacher

Cambridge is served by 20 public schools enrolling about 8,325 students, with a student-teacher ratio of 9.2:1 — smaller classes than the US average of ~15:1. Public-school facts are from the NCES Common Core of Data; check ratings and attendance boundaries by exact address below.

Ratings, districts & boundaries:

NCES school directory →School ratings →Massachusetts report card →

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
35° / 21°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
81° / 64°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
200
~55% of year
Annual precip
48″ rain
43″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Moderate
Tornado
Low
Wildfire
Very low
Earthquake
Very low
Flood
Moderate

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Boston-Cambridge-Newton area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Cambridge listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-28 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Filtered for Cambridge-specific coverage. Headlines link to original sources.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
70%
Humid climate
Median household income
$96,500
Massachusetts state median
Top industries (state-level)
TechBiotechEducation/Healthcare

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

Find more cities like Cambridge

Open the matchmaker pre-filled to match Cambridge’s price band, region, and size — refine to taste.

Find more like Cambridge →

Cities similar to Cambridge

Explore other places with comparable momentum or affordability.

See all Massachusetts cities →    Browse best-of lists →

Cost-of-ownership at the median

Tax burden
9.0% top marginal
~30% all-in for a $150k earner
Property tax / yr
$12k
1.14% × median home $1.0M
Climate / hazard
limited data
Plan for the local hazard profile.

Snapshot assumes a $150k single earner buying at the median home. Your real numbers depend on bracket, deductions, school district, and HOA. Use the affordability calculator and net-pay calculator for your specific case.

Schools & crime context

Schools

School quality is district-by-district and varies dramatically within a city. Check GreatSchools or your state DOE rankings for specific schools before deciding. City-level school data coming soon.

Crime

Massachusetts: 316 violent crimes per 100K residents (state avg, FBI UCR). Neighborhood-level rates can vary 10× within one city — research specific areas via CrimeGrade or local police data.

Compare to where you live now

Set your current city once and we’ll show the cost delta on every city profile.

Jobs & hiring

In Cambridge, unemployment is low at 3.4%, and hiring momentum has been steady. The strongest local sectors are tech, education and healthcare.

3.4% unemployment54/100 hiring momentum$130,748 median household income49/100 remote-work fit

Search current openings:

Indeed →LinkedIn →Google Jobs →ZipRecruiter →USAJOBS (federal) →