Boston

Teacher salary is 2.0x the town's per capita income ($67,404). Teachers earn well above the community per capita income. The MA median ratio is about 1.9x.

Tax rate is the effective residential rate (tax bill ÷ assessed value). Tax as % of income measures how much of residents’ income goes to property taxes. The MA median is about 14%; below 10% is low (wealthier towns with high incomes relative to home values), above 16% is above average. Bond rating reflects the town’s creditworthiness for borrowing. AAA is the highest possible rating (strong fiscal management), meaning the town can borrow at the lowest interest rates. AA+ is excellent, AA is very good.

New growth measures new taxable value from construction and development (not rising home prices). In Massachusetts, Proposition 2\u00BD limits annual property tax increases to 2.5% of the prior year\u2019s levy. New growth revenue is automatically added on top of this 2.5% base increase \u2014 it does not require a vote. This town’s total levy growth is about 4.8% (2.5% base + 2.32% from new growth). The MA median is about 1.2%; above 1.5% is strong, below 0.8% signals limited development. The residential share (23.64%) shows how much comes from homes vs. commercial/industrial. When most growth is residential, homeowners carry more of the tax burden. More commercial/industrial growth is generally better for homeowners because businesses share the cost.