Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetMA-BURLINGTON-MA · Burlington, MA 26,223 pop · income 93rd pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Burlington
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Burlington on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Wasco · lowest
55,521
Wasco · lowest
55,521 median HH income
29.9% of the leader · rank #1
Black Forest · near
142,173
Black Forest · near
142,173 median HH income
76.6% of the leader · rank #2
Geneva · near
142,188
Geneva · near
142,188 median HH income
76.6% of the leader · rank #3
Burlington · this city
142,207
Burlington · this city
142,207 median HH income
76.6% of the leader · rank #4
Stepney · near
142,250
Stepney · near
142,250 median HH income
76.7% of the leader · rank #5
Hillcrest · near
142,260
Hillcrest · near
142,260 median HH income
76.7% of the leader · rank #6
Plainview · highest
185,531
Plainview · highest
185,531 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Burlington on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 26,223.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Burlington - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Burlington lands in the 93rd percentile for household income and the 35th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
93rd
percentile, household income
92nd
percentile, home value
98th
percentile, median rent
35th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Burlington, MA
Burlington is a small city in Massachusetts, home to 26,223 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $142,207 per year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 2.7%. Burlington's housing stock carries a median value of $679,400, and the median resident age is 44.9 years. 58.2% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 65.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Crime here tracks close to the national norm: FBI UCR figures show 1887.6 crimes per 100,000 residents, near the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score).
Massachusetts carries a cost-of-living premium: the state registers 105.8 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Above Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $2,261 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Massachusetts run around $330, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 78.8 out of 100 (High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Burlington's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from reported crime to housing and income to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Burlington, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What can the FBI record say about safety in Burlington?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1887.6 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 17% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
How far does income reach against housing in Burlington?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 2.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What does the journey to work look like in Burlington?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 68.7%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Which cities make useful reference points for Burlington?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Massachusetts, the closest population matches are Reading (25,448 residents, $163,725 income); Belmont (27,009 residents, $178,188 income); Wakefield (27,284 residents, $130,320 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Wasco, CA (26,222 residents); Lockport, IL (26,228 residents); Hercules, CA (26,245 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Burlington?
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 6 public schools within the city match. 58.2% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Poverty estimate
2.7%
Bachelor's degree+
58.2%
Matched public schools
6
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Household income A+
$142,207
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share A+
58.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate A-
2.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime D
225 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Cost of living F
105.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Burlington profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Household income: 94/100 (A+) · $142,207
Bachelor's+ share: 91/100 (A+) · 58.2%
Poverty rate: 81/100 (A-) · 2.7%
Violent crime: 44/100 (D) · 225 /100k
Cost of living: 18/100 (F) · 105.8 index
Where Burlington sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Burlington's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Burlington highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
Burlington, MA (this city): home $679,400, crime 1,888/100k
Lockport, IL : home $298,800, crime 660/100k
Hercules, CA : home $741,200, crime 842/100k
Reading, MA : home $741,100, crime 572/100k
Belmont, MA : home $1,108,800, crime 755/100k
Wakefield, MA : home $670,100, crime 584/100k
Dedham, MA : home $630,400, crime 1,597/100k
Milford, MA : home $429,800, crime 1,188/100k
Danvers, MA : home $611,200, crime 1,618/100k
How does Burlington compare to other US cities?
Where Burlington sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income93% higher than other cities
Home value92% pricier than other cities
Median rent98% pricier than other cities
Safety35% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Massachusetts alone, Burlington ranks #133 of 149 Massachusetts cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Burlington against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Massachusetts only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Massachusetts-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Burlington near the bottom of Massachusetts's cities
Among the 247 Massachusetts cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Burlington ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Burlington only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#34 of 233
85th percentile in Massachusetts
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 247
0th percentile in Massachusetts
Median Home Value
#57 of 240
76th percentile in Massachusetts
Poverty Rate
#155 of 247
36th percentile in Massachusetts
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#61 of 247
75th percentile in Massachusetts
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Massachusetts only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
93rd percentile nationally for median household income · 35th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Burlington's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Burlington's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Burlington's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$679,4008th percentilemore affordable than 8% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Burlington's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.8×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#12,516 of 15,516
More affordable than 19% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,503 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 4.8×, Burlington sits in the moderate band:
national rank #12,516 of 15,516 and #2,503 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$142,207Burlington, MA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Burlington, MA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Burlington, MA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)58.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)2.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)65.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
26,223
Median Income
$142,207
Median Home Value
$679,400
Median Age
44.9
Poverty Rate
2.7%
Labor force participation
65.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
58.2%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1887.6
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
224.9
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1662.7
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
6
Public schools in this city
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
68.7%
Carpool
7.0%
Public Transit
3.0%
Walk
0.5%
Work from Home
20.2%
Other
0.6%
Based on 14,197 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Massachusetts statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $330
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Massachusetts at $330 (electricity about $160 , water and sewer about $60 ).
These are Massachusetts statewide averages, not a meter reading for Burlington. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Massachusetts's BEA cost-of-living index is 105.8 (Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Burlington is $2,261/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Massachusetts statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 78.8 / 100 (High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Massachusetts statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Burlington sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Burlington compares to similar-size Massachusetts cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.