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

All states·Massachusetts·Chelsea

Suffolk County · Boston-Cambridge-Newton · population 40,245

Chelsea, MA
Image: Wikipedia · Chelsea, Massachusetts
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
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59
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Chelsea stands

At or near all-time high.

Median home $529,876
1-year -0.1%
5-yr CAGR +3.2%
vs 5-yr peak -0.2%
Population -0.3%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2025-02$530k$277k$368k$460k$552k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
32/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
22/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
76/100
Strong remote-work fit
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
$2,619/mo$1,712$2,244$2,777202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent117144100120140202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 16.9
Lean buy

At a 16.9 price-to-rent ratio, Chelsea is in the 'depends on horizon' zone. Buy if you'll be there 5+ years and value flexibility on the home; rent if you might move, want zero maintenance friction, or expect rates to drop.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
50 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
54 · w22%
Distance from peak
89 · w18%
Population growth
40 · w16%
Rent YoY
61 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
67 · w10%
Long thesis

Chelsea has held up across the cycle: home values at $529,876 with +3.2% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Chelsea's bear case is the boring one: the cycle is real and any market that's run hard can stall. Watch for slowing population growth, rising days-on-market, or builder discounts as the early warning signals.

About Chelsea

Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, with an estimated population of 40,245. It anchors the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area. The median home value in Chelsea is $529,876 as of 2026-04, down 0.1% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +3.2% annual growth, with prices at or near the 5-year peak. Rents in Chelsea average $2,619 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+2.3%). The composite momentum score is 59 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●Held the highs: currently -0.2% from the 5-year peak — this market refused to give back gains.
○The data is the data: Chelsea has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 2-criteria momentum score on this page.

▼ Bear case

●Flat or shrinking population: -0.3% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — verify the source.
○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Chelsea (Wikipedia)

Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located along the Mystic River and connected to Boston by the Tobin Bridge. As of 2026, Chelsea has a population of 40,245 and a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.7 km2). It is the smallest city in Massachusetts by land area, and the third most densely populated.

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

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

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

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

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

Cities like Chelsea

Revere, MA59 · StableMedford, MA63 · RisingSomerville, MA61 · StableQuincy, MA63 · Rising

Run the numbers for Chelsea

ToolCan I afford Chelsea?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Chelsea rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Chelsea to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolChelsea cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

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 Chelsea listings on the major real-estate sites.

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

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. 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.

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