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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.

Brookline, MA
Real Estate & Demographic Data






Brookline profile


Living in Brookline



Brookline is a larger medium-sized town located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 62,962 people and 15 associated neighborhoods, Brookline is the 18th largest community in Massachusetts. Brookline has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic towns.

Brookline home prices are not only among the most expensive in Massachusetts, but Brookline real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

And if you like science, one thing you'll find is that Brookline has lots of scientists living in town - whether they be life scientists, physical scientists (like astronomers), or social scientists (like geographers!). So, if you're scientific-minded, you might like it here too.

Also of interest is that Brookline has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Of important note, Brookline is also a town of artists. Brookline has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Brookline’s character.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 26.98% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

One thing noticeable about Brookline, although not a huge town, is that it has a large population of people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile career starters. That’s because Brookline is full of single people in their 20s and 30s and who have undergraduate or graduate degrees and are starting careers in professional occupations. This makes Brookline a pretty good place for young, educated career starters looking to find many people like themselves, with good opportunities for friendships, socializing, romance, and fun.

One downside of living in Brookline is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Brookline, the average commute to work is 30.20 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the town, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative. In addition, it is also a pedestrian-friendly town. Many of Brookline’s neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot.

Like elsewhere in America, most people in Brookline use a private automobile to get to work. But notably, a substantial number of Brookline‘s citizens do make use of public transit in their daily commute, primarily riding the subway. This helps more people get to work with less air pollution, and require fewer highways to get them there.

Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to Brookline, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Brookline is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 85.04% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 21.84%.

The per capita income in Brookline in 2022 was $94,739, which is wealthy relative to Massachusetts and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $378,956 for a family of four. However, Brookline contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Brookline is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Brookline home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Brookline residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Brookline include Irish, German, English, Italian, and Russian.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Brookline's cultural character, accounting for 27.54% of the town’s population.

The most common language spoken in Brookline is English. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and Spanish.