It’s July 3, and you still haven’t nailed down your Fourth of July plans?
Don’t worry, we found some great last-minute choices that are worth celebrating. Consider these.
Rooftop party where the July 4 stars stay: The Fairmont Copley Plaza (https://www.fairmont.com/copley-plaza-boston/) is the official hotel of Boston’s Fourth of July stars: The Boston Pops. Book a Gold room for the night of the 4th and you’ll also get star treatment.
The hotel will host a rooftop terrace party with those hors d’oeuvres Fairmont Gold is famous for, a signature welcome cocktail and honor bar, and a partial fireworks view from atop the 110-year old historic hotel.
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The party runs from 8 to 11 p.m., which means you’ve plenty of time to meander over to the Esplanade or just walk around and take in the sights of the city.
Gold floor guests also get private check in, a dedicated concierge and access to their lounge where breakfast, snacks and evening appetizers are complimentary.
Should you be a night owl, you may even see some Pops relaxing post concert.
All American in America’s Home town: A huge parade first thing in the morning and a massive fireworks display after dusk bookends a full day of fun in Plymouth, the town where it all began.
Plymouth has long been a great spot for the Fourth. The annual parade steps off at 9 a.m.; you’ll want to get there early to grab a route-side spot. The parade starts at Cordage Park, just north of downtown and comes through the center of town and then down Water Street, past the Rock, Mayflower II and the beautiful harbor.
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Once the parade wraps, you can dine in one of the many great downtown and waterfront spots, head to the Plimoth Patuxet living museum for some true American history, grab bites from the food trucks on site or even soak in the sun on the beach or harborside.
Parking can be a challenge as there are many road closures. Your best bet is to arrive early, park outside of downtown and take a little walk in. You can find parking details here: https://www.parkplymouth.com/parkplymouth-homepage.html.
At 7:30 p.m. the Plymouth Philharmonic begins their harborside concert, which goes until the sky lights up with fireworks around 9:30 p.m. Grab a lobster roll from a local spot like Bramhall’s Country Store and picnic harborside.
Pro tip: Do download the Ride Circuit app from See Plymouth (seeplymouth.com), for access to free electric vehicle rides to and from spots like the beaches, museums and shopping areas.
Old school small town big fun: If nostalgia is your aesthetic, or if you just want to dip your toes in a true American home town Fourth of July vibe, head to Sharon.
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Sharon’s Fourth (https://sharonjuly4.org/index.html) gets ahead of the game by kicking into high gear on July 3.
It all starts of 4 p.m. on Beach Street where children are welcome to take part in a parade. Decorate a bike or wagon, dress up in your finest; whatever makes you happy and then march along as crowds cheer you on.
That wraps quickly (kids can only march for so long) and is followed by a family concert, which is free like the parade.
Through the afternoon and early evening there’s a food truck fair, games and activities, live music and train rides on the Roaming Railroad (https://www.roamingrailroad.com) a Sharon Fourth of July tradition.
At 8 p.m. you can enter or cheer on competitors in a pie eating contest. Winner takes home $50.
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Then at 9:30 it all wraps up with fireworks. See that? You did it all and it’s not even July 4 yet.
Massachusetts State Police are searching for Ashyley Vasquez after a potential child kidnapping of three youths. (Massachusetts State Police)
STOUGHTON, Mass. (WLNE) — Massachusetts State Police said that an Amber Alert for three children out of Stoughton was cancelled after they were found safe.
A view of a marina in Nantucket Island. Nantucket is home to the most expensive ZIP code in … [+] Massachusetts, where the median home value is over $2.772 million.
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Massachusetts stands among the top five states in the United States in terms of income, boasting a household income of $99,858 and a mean household income of $138,516, according to the Census Bureau. Affluence is a hallmark of many places in Massachusetts, both of regular suburbs and resort areas.
For this article, we wanted to breakdown the most expensive ZIP codes in Massachusetts. Vacation spots in Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Cape Code, and the Berkshires not surprisingly are home to many of the most expensive ZIP codes. But so does the Boston metro area. Read on to find out the most expensive ZIP codes in Massachusetts in 2024, based on the latest data from Zillow’s home value index.
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The Most Expensive ZIP Codes in Massachusetts
Harnessing data from Zillow’s home value index, as well as the Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey, we analyzed thousands of ZIP codes across the U.S. as part of a general survey. From there, we focused our attention on Massachusetts. The Zillow home value index tracks (as of September 2024) the home values of 484 ZIP codes in Massachusetts. As part of our analysis, we took into consideration the latest monthly home values Zillow has — September 2024 — as well as the average of 12 months of median home values from October 2023 to September 2024. While home values have grown immensely across America since the pandemic-induced buying frenzy, home value appreciation in Massachusetts stands out. One of the most expensive ZIP codes in Massachusetts witnessed home values surge by 84.8% over the last five years.
Some very clear patterns emerge from this analysis. The majority of the most expensive ZIP codes in Massachusetts are contained within just a couple of metropolitan areas. Below are the 25 most expensive ZIP codes in Massachusetts.
The Top 5 Most Expensive ZIP Codes in Massachusetts
ZIP code 02554 is the most expensive one in Massachusetts. This ZIP code covers the affluent island of Nantucket. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise considering Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard are well-known for attracting wealthy residents. The 12-month average home value is just over $2.7 million, while the median home value was over $2.77 million in September 2024. That is up an incredible 57.5% from five years before, when the median home value was roughly $1.76 million in September 2019.
Moving over to Nantucket’s neighbor, ZIP code 02535 covers the southwestern portion of Martha’s Vineyard. Incomes are high in ZIP code 02535, with the median household income being $135,750 and the average household income $223,352. Just over 29% of households in ZIP code 02535 earn $200,000 or more a year. Back in September 2019, the median home value was nearly $1.478 million, before rising by 58.8% over five years, reaching $2.346 million in September 2024. Notably, though, the median home value fell slightly, by 2%, from the previous September, when it was just under $2.395 million.
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The No. 3 most expensive ZIP code in Massachusetts is 02493, which is centered on Weston, a suburb west of Boston. Household incomes in ZIP code 02493 are much higher than those on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, believe it or not. The median household income in ZIP code 02493 is over $250,000 a year, while the mean household income is $365,202. The majority of households in 02493 earn $200,000 or more. Home value appreciation here has been robust. The median home value rose by 59.1%, from around $1.374 million in September 2019 to $2.186 million in September 2024.
South of the No. 3 most expensive ZIP code is the No. 4, ZIP code 02481. This ZIP code is centered on Wellesley, though actually wraps around the town, including places like Wellesley Farms, Wellesley Lower Falls, and Wellesley College itself. There are some serious high-earners in this ZIP code. The median household income is over $250,000, with the average household income topping $414,000 per year. Here’s another ZIP code where home values increased substantially. From a median of nearly $1.357 million in September 2019, the median home value increased by 53.1%, to reach $2.077 million. Indeed, it’s up 6.3% year-over-year.
The fifth most expensive ZIP code in Massachusetts is based on the village of Waban, which is part of the larger city of Newton: 02468. This is another western suburb of Boston. Like the other expensive suburban ZIP codes of Boston, incomes are very high in 02468. Incredibly, 71.3% of households in 02468 earn $200,000 or more. The median household income here is more than $250,000 per year; the mean household income is $382,509. Home values here rose by 45.3% in five years, not as large a growth rate as the other ZIP codes among our top five, yet still substantial. In September 2024, the median home value breached $2 million.
Three years into its anticipated seven-year timeline, construction is well underway on Massachusetts General Hospital’s massive new $1.9 billion clinical care facility on its Boston campus.
At over 1.5 million square feet, the Phillip and Susan Ragon Building will house the Mass General Cancer Center and the Corrigan Minehan Heart Center. Its two inpatient towers will contain 482 single-bed rooms, and the facility will include rooms for operations, imaging, infusions, and exams.
When the project along Cambridge Street broke ground in 2022, the hospital’s president David F. M. Brown called it “the most important” building constructed in the hospital’s history since its original building was constructed more than two centuries ago.
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“It will create the environment our staff need, and our patients deserve,” he said at the time.
At a recent celebration of the last beam being placed on the building’s East Tower, Jonathan Kraft, chair of the hospital’s board of trustees, said the building will be the “flagship building” of the hospital’s parent organization,Mass General Brigham.
“It will be the signature building of our system and the signature building of the whole health care community in New England,” he said.
The building will rely primarily on renewable electricity and has a net-zero carbon plan for construction and operation, MGH has said. It will potentially house a new T stop on the proposed Red-Blue connector, according to the hospital’s website. Construction is set to be completed in two phases, in 2027 and 2030.
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Construction continued on Massachusetts General Hospital’s $1.9 billion Phillip and Susan Ragon Building.David L. Ryan/Globe Staff
The state-of-the-art building along Cambridge Street will house the Mass General Cancer Center and the Corrigan Minehan Heart Center.David L. Ryan/Globe Staff
The project’s two inpatient towers will contain 482 single-bed rooms, and the facility will include rooms for operations, imaging, infusions, and exams.David L. Ryan/Globe Staff
Stella Tannenbaum can be reached at stella.tannenbaum@globe.com.
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