Housing in East Boston at a glance
- Population
- 46,892
- Housing units
- about 17,337
- Median value, owner-occupied homes
- $658,000Boston: $731,700 (-10%)
- Median gross rent
- $2,000 a monthBoston: $2,147 (-7%)
- Owner-occupied homes
- 29.5%Boston: 35.7%
- Homes built before 1980
- 74.6%
- Median year built
- 1939 or earlier
East Boston sits on the north-east side of the city and keeps both values and rents under the Boston overall levels. Owners estimate their homes at $658,000, against $731,700 across Boston, and renters pay $2,000 each month, versus $2,147. Owners form 29.5% of households, sixth in the ranking, so renters clearly outnumber them. Housing is old: pre-1980 homes account for 74.6%, and the home of median age is from 1939 or earlier. In comparison with its neighbours, South Boston is higher on every count, at $864,000 in owner estimates and $2,740 in rent, and South End is higher still at $1,178,000. Fenway, at $685,000, is only slightly above East Boston, though just 10.4% of its households own.
Questions about East Boston
What is the median home value in East Boston, Boston?
$658,000 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 East Boston?
$2,000 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 East Boston own or rent?
Most rent: 29.5% 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 12 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).
East Boston is one of the 10 most populous neighborhoods (of 23 in the planning department neighborhood dataset) of Boston: population 46,892 (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 East Boston
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 East Boston. 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 East Boston? Ask for your spot.