Housing in Dorchester at a glance
- Population
- 123,056
- Housing units
- about 51,069
- Median value, owner-occupied homes
- $656,000Boston: $731,700 (-10%)
- Median gross rent
- $1,830 a monthBoston: $2,147 (-15%)
- Owner-occupied homes
- 37.4%Boston: 35.7%
- Homes built before 1980
- 76.4%
- Median year built
- 1939 or earlier
Dorchester is Boston's most populous sector, with 126,527 residents, and it sits to the south-east of the city's centre. Its housing is priced below the Boston norm: owner estimates reach $656,000, seventh in the ranking, and rent is $1,830, ninth and well under Boston's $2,147. Owners make up 37.4% of households, just above the 35.7% for the city. The stock is old, with 76.4% of homes predating 1980, which ranks it third among Boston's sectors, and the midpoint year of construction is 1939 or earlier. Among the neighbours, Roxbury shows $633,000 in owner estimates and $1,280 in rent, while South Boston climbs to $864,000 and $2,740, and Jamaica Plain reaches $811,000, so Dorchester lands between them.
Questions about Dorchester
What is the median home value in Dorchester, Boston?
$656,000 for owner-occupied homes, against $731,700 for Boston as a whole (Payotte estimate from Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year data for the census tracts within the official boundary). It is the owners' own estimate of their home's value, not a sale price.
What is the median rent in Dorchester?
$1,830 a month in gross rent (rent plus utilities paid by the renter), against $2,147 in Boston (Payotte estimate from Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year data for the census tracts within the official boundary).
Do most people in Dorchester own or rent?
Most rent: 37.4% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, against 35.7% in Boston (Payotte estimate from Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year data for the census tracts within the official boundary).
Data and method
Data as of: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (retrieved 2026-11-02).
Estimate from the 29 census tracts whose internal point lies within the official boundary: counts are summed, and each median is recomputed from the summed value, rent and year-built brackets (grouped median, linear interpolation). The gap with the city is measured with the same method on the whole city. Boundaries used: Boston Planning Department GIS, BPDA Neighborhoods (consulted 2026-11-02).
Dorchester is one of the 10 most populous neighborhoods (of 23 in the planning department neighborhood dataset) of Boston: population 123,056 (Boston Population Estimates 2025, Neighborhood Level (City of Boston Planning Department Research Division, Analyze Boston)).
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, tables B01003, B25001, B25003, B25034, B25063, B25064, B25075, B25077; U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer files (census tract internal points). City figures: the same survey, published for Boston as a whole. Home values are owners' estimates, not sale prices.
Near Dorchester
The closest sectors of Boston, by distance between population centres.
Other sectors of Boston
Five trades, one spot each
Payotte lists one professional per trade in Dorchester. No one is listed yet: every spot is open.
- Real estate agentOpen spot
- Mortgage loan officerOpen spot
- Home inspectorOpen spot
- Real estate attorneyOpen spot
- AppraiserOpen spot
Work in one of these trades in Dorchester? Ask for your spot.