West Somerville

Somerville, MA

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West Somerville - Somerville, MA Area Guide

Lovely suburban environment on the west side of Tufts University.

Walkable College Suburb Schools

Attractive homes and tree-shaded sidewalks line the streets of West Somerville, a mainly-residential suburban community along Alewife Brook Parkway. The east side of the neighborhood borders the Tufts University campus, making it an excellent location for students, faculty, and staff to find apartments. Large chain grocery stores and corner markets in the community give residents numerous convenient options for grabbing their everyday necessities. While the close proximity to the university does attract renters from the collegiate demographic, there is plenty for families to appreciate as well: multiple public schools can be found within and around the neighborhood, and the Dilboy sports facilities on the west side are perfect venues for all-ages fun.

Getting Around

Very Walkable

Walkability

80 / 100

Good Public Transit

Transit

60 / 100

Moderately Drivable

Drivability

70 / 100

Moderately Bikeable

Bikeability

60 / 100

Daily Essentials

Supermarket Within a 5 Minute Walk

Groceries

90 / 100

Good Restaurant Variety Nearby

Restaurants

60 / 100

Fair Café Variety Nearby

Cafes

50 / 100

Fair Variety of Shops Nearby

Shopping

50 / 100

Recreation

Exceptional Amount of Park Space Nearby

Parks

100 / 100

Exceptional Wellness Amenity Variety Nearby

Wellness

90 / 100

Local Vibe

Vibrant Atmosphere at Times

Vibrancy

50 / 100

Limited Nightlife Variety Nearby

Nightlife

30 / 100

Moderately Noisy

Quiet Score

50 / 100

Points of Interest

Parks and Recreation

  • Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
  • Harvard Museum of Natural History
  • Mineralogical and Geological Museum
  • Mystic River Reservation
  • Longfellow National Historic Site

Airports

  • General Edward Lawrence Logan International

Top Apartments in West Somerville

Houses for Rent in West Somerville

Property Management Companies

Methodology

† Our analysis of utilities, groceries, transportation, healthcare, home prices, and other goods and services is sourced from the Cost of Living Index, a respected benchmark published by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) that provides a thorough overview of living expenses across different regions.

Rent data is provided by CoStar Group’s Market Trend reports. As the industry leader in commercial real estate information, analytics, and news, CoStar conducts extensive research to produce and maintain a comprehensive database of commercial real estate information. We combine this data with public record to provide the most up-to-date rental information available.

Consumer goods, services, and home prices are sourced from the Cost of Living Index published by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER). The data on this page is updated quarterly. It was last published in February 2026.

Demographic information comes from Neustar and combines detailed address data with U.S. Census and American Community Survey statistics to produce reliable local estimates.