Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Because it does well by almost any measure. Milton earns an A+, 25th of 282 graded towns in Massachusetts. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 97% of the country, the median household earns $189K, and it reports less crime per resident than 82% of U.S. towns. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.1 million, 9.3 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 99% of U.S. towns, with 24 places on the National Register. Milton’s median household income is $189,000, above both Massachusetts’ towns ($120,000) and U.S. towns ($80,000). Its National Register listings include Captain R. B. Forbes House and Suffolk Resolves House. Only 24 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns score higher on walkability.
Where Milton beats most towns.
Captain R. B. Forbes House is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,039 in 1790, 28,630 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1777 and 2 maps from 1943 on.
24 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Milton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Milton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw7 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw14 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw7 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
7 mi MuseumMuseum of Fine Arts Boston477K visitors a year
8 mi AttractionFreedom Trail
8 mi GardenBoston CommonFenway 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 · Museum of Fine Arts Boston: Martin~jawiki at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Boston Common: Phillip Capper from Wellington, New Zealand, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Milton, 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 Milton.
Milton reports less crime than Randolph Town or any other graded neighbor and keeps more of its land conserved than most of Massachusetts, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Massachusetts.
Its 3,373 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 95% of Massachusetts towns.
53 miles of trail in 21 parks and preserves. Milton’s trail density is 4.0 miles per square mile. Blue Hills Reservation, at 1,702 acres with 37.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Blue Hills Reservation | 37.2 mi | 1,702 |
| 2. Cunningham Park | 0.9 mi | 83 |
| 3. Eustis-Jeffries Conservation Land | 0.9 mi | 68 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A− is the best School Grade on its borders; Quincy (B−) is next. Its A− for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.07M.
Its public schools are run by the Milton school district. Three of its 12 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles S Pierce MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,002 | B |
| Milton HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,083 | A+ |
| GloverTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 593 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
At 9.3 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income, the typical home (about $1.07M) costs more against local pay than in 89% of Massachusetts towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living. Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Boston is next at $761K.
The typical Milton home is worth about $1,074,000, up 3.6% in a year, 64% above the Massachusetts typical home. 85% of Milton households own their home.
| Milton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 85% | 79% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,474 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A+ for health tops all 3 graded neighbors; Quincy (A) comes closest. Its widest gap with Massachusetts is no health insurance: 3.1% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 5.2% statewide.
24% of adults have obesity in Milton. Milton beats the Massachusetts average on 17 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 7.9% of adults smoke cigarettes in Milton.
| Milton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 28% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.9% | 11% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 19% | 25% |
| What stands out | Milton | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.1% | 5.2% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.1% | 11.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A− tops all 3 graded towns on its borders; Randolph Town (B−) comes closest. Violent crime is rare: 20 reported in 2025, 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
The violent crime rate in Milton is 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Milton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.6 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 79% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 54 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Milton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
29.7% of workers work from home, against 18.6% across Massachusetts.
Most working residents leave Milton for work: only 8% work in town. Jobs based in Milton grew to 5,880 in 2023, 794 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Boston (41%), Cambridge (5%) and Quincy (5%).
| Milton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 30% | 18% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4.7% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Milton has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 20° and about 70 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
52 within 15 miles of the center of Milton
About 10 of every 100 Milton residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
2 colleges in town.
24 places in Milton on the National Register of Historic Places.
59 notable people were born in Milton.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and an immediate southern suburb of Boston. The population was 28,630 at the 2020 census. Milton is located in the relatively hilly area between the Neponset River and Blue Hills, bounded by Brush Hill to the west, Milton Hill to the east, Blue Hills to the south and the Neponset River to the north. It is also bordered by Boston's Dorchester and Mattapan district to the north and its Hyde Park district to the west, with the neighboring Massachusetts city of Quincy to the east and the towns of Randolph to the south, and Canton to the west.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Milton.
At #25 in MA, it grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Quincy (B−) comes closest.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milton | #25 | A+ | C− | A− | A− | A+ |
| Boston | #252 | C− | D | D | C− | A− |
| Randolph Town | #239 | C | D | B− | C− | B+ |
| Quincy | #211 | B− | D | C+ | B− | A |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Milton grades A+ overall, better than 98% of U.S. towns and #25 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 C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
59 notable people were born here, including George H. W. Bush and Jenny Slate.
