02124 — Boston, Massachusetts

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 02124. Its median household income runs 16% below Boston as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

60out of 100
Area Score
Top 45% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity1,874th of 3,116 ZIP areas measured49
Schools2,186th of 3,047 ZIP areas measured33
Growth1,589th of 3,124 ZIP areas measured50
Housing affordability2,538th of 3,112 ZIP areas measured50
Climate2,358th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured62
Physical resilienceTop 1% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured97
AccessTop 8% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured99
Economic stability1,635th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured53
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.7% and median household income $81,923, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Boston, MA, which contains 02124, rather than for 02124 alone.

In the public schools here, 38% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 10.7 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 32% of renter income here, at or above the threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, while buying strains owner incomes less — the median home is 4.8 times what its owners earn, against a historic benchmark near three.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
56,216
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$81,923
Top 35% nationally
Density
18,941/sq mi
3 sq mi of land
Median age
36.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Boston
Massachusetts
Nearest major airport
BOS
6 mi · General Edward Lawrence Logan Intl
Median home value
$650,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Boston, MA, which contains 02124, is 4.7% — higher than in all but 37% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Boston, MA, which contains 02124, fell 1.9% over the past year, to 386,753 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsSuffolk County, MA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$93,36482nd percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftSuffolk County, MA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$127,35796th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$10,6172024 ACS 5-Year$81,923Top 35%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,5852024 ACS 5-Year$41,235Top 36%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year17.3%Bottom 23%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year38.5 minBottom 10%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year31.6%Top 32%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year46.3%6th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentBoston, MA’s figureJuly 2026386,753Top 11%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Boston, MA’s figureJuly 2026+0.9%Top 35%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Boston, MA’s figureJuly 2026−1.9%Bottom 24%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceBoston, MA’s figureJuly 2026405,85488th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year85.0%Top 20%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageBoston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$89,620Top 7%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageBoston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$66,620Top 7%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year22.7%99th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Boston, MA’s figureJuly 2026−0.1%Bottom 46%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateBoston, MA’s figureJuly 20264.7%Bottom 37%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year15.7%74th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202482k66k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $81,923 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides72,420$40,910
General and Operations Managers70,950$133,800
Registered Nurses64,240$106,180
Retail Salespersons64,150$36,850
Fast Food and Counter Workers60,130$36,290
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners43,160$46,550

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Boston, MA, the city containing this ZIP code.

38% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 42% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 10.7 students for every full-time teacher across 10 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
10
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
10.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
38.0%
Bottom 14% in Massachusetts
Reading proficiency
41.8%
Bottom 21% in Massachusetts
All 10 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Brooke Charter School · charterBrooke Charter School2,21612.476%74%
TechBoston AcademyBoston85012.316%23%
UP Academy Charter School of Dorchester · charterUP Academy Charter School of Dorchester64011.219%26%
Henderson K-12 Inclusion School UpperBoston6318.236%40%
Lee K-8 SchoolBoston5519.315%25%
Shaw-Taylor Elementary SchoolBoston5289.415%45%
Boston International High School & Newcomers AcademyBoston4908.915%5%
Codman Academy Charter Public School · charterCodman Academy Charter Public34410.48%12%
Holmes Elementary SchoolBoston2839.427%32%
Lee AcademyBoston19511.525%15%

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Massachusetts’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 10% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 110.4, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Boston, MA Metropolitan Division is up 40% over five years, and up 3.2% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $3,669 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.56% of the median home value.

The typical renter household here spends 32% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,684 a month.

A median home at $650,700 costs 4.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $136,229, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
110.4

Prices here run about 10% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
31.6%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.8×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Median gross rent
$1,684
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$650,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 02124’s median household income of $81,923, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area’s figure2023110.4Bottom 15%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Boston, MA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+3.2%49th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Boston, MA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+39.7%37th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Boston, MA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+88.1%39th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.52024 ACS 5-Year4.8Bottom 11%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year41.4%6th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±7652024 ACS 5-Year21,36597th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$1232024 ACS 5-Year$1,684Bottom 16%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$28,7142024 ACS 5-Year$650,70093rd percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$4342024 ACS 5-Year$3,66978th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$12,7952024 ACS 5-Year$136,229Top 10%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.07%2024 ACS 5-Year0.56%19th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year31.6%Bottom 32%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±212024 ACS 5-Year1242nd percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%31st percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.0%36th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2372024 ACS 5-Year1,07889th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

50/ 100
Ranks 1,589 of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

88% of the 2,086 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses. The multifamily share is published for Boston, MA, which contains 02124, rather than for 02124 alone.

At 3.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Boston, MA, which contains 02124, rather than for 02124 alone.

Units permitted
2,086
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.1
Top 49% nationally
Year over year
+21%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
88.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
−2.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
50%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$93,364
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$127,357
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Middlesex County, MA 9,405 people · 21% of arrivals
  2. Norfolk County, MA 5,512 people · 12% of arrivals
  3. Essex County, MA 2,736 people · 6.2% of arrivals
  4. Plymouth County, MA 1,592 people · 3.6% of arrivals
  5. Worcester County, MA 1,125 people · 2.5% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Middlesex County, MA 13,242 people · 24% of departures
  2. Norfolk County, MA 9,272 people · 17% of departures
  3. Essex County, MA 4,352 people · 7.8% of departures
  4. Plymouth County, MA 2,958 people · 5.3% of departures
  5. Bristol County, MA 1,444 people · 2.6% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Suffolk County, MA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Boston, MA, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 82°F and January a low of 19°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 53.3 inches, including 69.3 inches of snow.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BLUE HILL, 5.5 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year572024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals53.3"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals69.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals19°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year362024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
36
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
57
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

97 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 52% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 99% of measured US ZIP areas.

LightningModerate
EarthquakeModerate
HurricaneElevated
Coastal floodingModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, inland flooding, cold wave, ice storm, hail, tornado, strong wind, winter weather, landslide, wildfire, drought, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Homicide
2.9
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
2.2
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
24.6
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
7.3
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 02124 (Suffolk County) rather than 02124 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Boston carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest General Edward Lawrence Logan Intl at 6 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year91.9%Top 37%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle6 miTop 13%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 26%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.7%Top 37%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
General Edward Lawrence Logan IntlBOS6 mi10,083 ft
Rhode Island TF Green IntlPVD43 mi8,700 ft
Manchester Boston RgnlMHT48 mi9,250 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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60
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

02124 vs Boston

How this ZIP area compares with Boston as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

02124
Boston
Median household income: Boston is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$81,923
vs
$97,344
Per capita income: Boston is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$41,235
vs
$61,698
Population density
18,941/sq mi
vs
13,786/sq mi
Median home value
$650,700
vs
$731,700
Median gross rent: 02124 is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$1,684
vs
$2,147
Homeownership rate
41.4%
vs
35.7%
Bachelor's degree or higher: Boston is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
31.6%
vs
54.9%
Poverty rate: Boston is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
17.3%
vs
14.6%
Median age
36.9
vs
33.3

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.