Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Because it does well by almost any measure. Belmont earns an A+, 33rd of 282 graded towns in Massachusetts. It is among the healthiest towns in the country on CDC estimates, its schools outperform 96% of the state's, and the median household earns $183K. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.4 million, 12.3 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 94% of U.S. towns, with 6 places on the National Register. 81% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Belmont, against 47% in Massachusetts’ towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Belmont is among the most walkable places in the country. Its National Register listings include Red Top and McLean Hospital National Register District.
Where Belmont beats most towns.
Red Top| Widest gap | Belmont | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5% | 11.9% |
Red Top is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,198 in 1860, 27,295 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1725 and 6 maps from 1893 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Belmont is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Belmont. Close and well known come first.
Big draw6 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw6 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
4 mi Stadium & arenaHarvard Stadium
9 mi LakeWalden Pond
7 mi AttractionFreedom TrailFenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Harvard Stadium: Nick Allen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Belmont, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Belmont.
Belmont has schools in the top 5% of Massachusetts and is safe by national standards but not by Massachusetts’s; it also has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Massachusetts.
At 12.3 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income, the typical home (about $1.42M) costs more against local pay than in 95% of Massachusetts towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
Nearly two thirds of Belmont households live in a home they own. A typical home here is worth about $1,421,000, up 1.4% in a year, about twice the Massachusetts typical home. Its median rent stands at $2,527 a month.
| Belmont | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,527 a month | $1,682 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 65% | 79% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
That grade ranks #9 of the 283 Massachusetts towns we grade for schools. It comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.42M.
Its public schools are run by the Belmont school district. Of its 10 schools, three are listed below, each with the reason. The 4 public schools in Belmont teach 1,229 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winthrop L Chenery Upper ElementaryLargest public middle schoolGrades 4–6 | Grades 4–6 | 1,023 | A |
| Belmont HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,454 | A+ |
| Winn BrookTop results in townGrades K–3 | Grades K–3 | 304 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Lone Tree Conservation Area, at 97 acres with 3.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. 16 miles of trail in 14 parks and preserves. The density of trails for Belmont comes to 3.5 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lone Tree Conservation Area | 3.6 mi | 97 |
| 2. Habitat Education Center & Wildlife Sanctuary | 3.6 mi | 81 |
| 3. Rock Meadow Conservation Area | 1.6 mi | 71 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Massachusetts is tooth loss: 5% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.9% statewide.
Among adults in Belmont, 15% get no exercise outside work. Only 10 of the 279 Massachusetts towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have high blood pressure than Belmont.
| Belmont | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.6% | 12% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 28% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 6.6% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Belmont | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5% | 11.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 2.4% | 5.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 9.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 59% of Massachusetts’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 8 reported in 2025, 0.3 per 1,000 residents.
Belmont’s level of violent crime is 0.3 per 1,000 residents. Its level of property crime stands at 7.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Belmont | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.3 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.9 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
31.5% of workers work from home, against 18.6% across Massachusetts.
Only 7% of working residents stay in Belmont for work; the rest commute out. In Belmont, nearly a third of workers do their job from home. Half of commuters travel less than 6 miles. Employers in Belmont added 626 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 7,243.
| Belmont | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 32% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $183,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3.6% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In July, afternoons reach 84°; in January, nights fall to 19°, and about 64 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
18 flood insurance claims have been paid in Belmont since 1978. Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 63% of U.S. communities. Expected losses in Belmont break down as 74% from inland flooding and 8% from hurricanes. Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 12 declared disasters, most recently in 2018.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
52 within 15 miles of the center of Belmont
About 6 of every 100 Belmont residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
24,729 counted in 2010 and 27,295 in 2020; an estimated 27,118 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 10.4% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
6 places in Belmont on the National Register of Historic Places.
31 notable people were born in Belmont.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Belmont is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a western suburb of Boston and is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, its population was 27,295, an increase of 10.4% from 2010.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Belmont.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Belmont grades A+ overall, better than 97% of U.S. towns and #33 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A+ for health, A− for safety and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
31 notable people were born here, including Jean Rogers and Sebastian Junger.
