Boston, MA vs Herndon, VA

Side-by-side comparison of housing, income, commute, safety, and quality of life.

Score Snapshot

No universal winner

Scores summarize the published model. Use the objective metric differences below and your own priorities to choose.

Boston

66.2

#1568 nationally

Herndon

68.4

#1320 nationally

Herndon leads in median household income ($133,403 vs $81,744). Boston leads in walk score (83 vs 51). Herndon leads in average commute (26 min vs 30.2 min).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Boston, MA	Herndon, VA
WhereAtHome Score	66.2 (#1568)	68.4 (#1320)
Population	684,379	24,935
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$787,763	$734,699
Median Household Income	$81,744	$133,403
Average Commute	30.2 min	26 min
Walk Score	83	51
Crime Level	Moderate	6.6
School Rating	7.2	N/A
Cost of Living Index	155	145
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	D+52.5	D+35.0