Living in Quincy, MA

Norfolk County

Quincy is the real, genuine "City of Presidents" -- the birthplace of John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams, as well as John Hancock, the first signer of the Declaration of Independence. Quincy also carries a real, substantial 20th-century shipbuilding heritage: the Fore River Shipyard, founded in 1884 by Thomas Watson (Alexander Graham Bell's assistant), grew into a major General Dynamics naval shipyard spanning World War I through the Cold War, preserved today as the United States Naval Shipbuilding Museum and the museum ship USS Salem. That heritage sits alongside a real, current, more-than-15-year downtown redevelopment effort, with recent milestones including Generals Park (2021) and Generals Bridge. Quincy is distinctly, among Massachusetts's Tier A markets, directly served by the MBTA Red Line subway -- four stations within the city (Quincy Center, Quincy Adams, Wollaston, North Quincy) -- a real, substantial transit advantage most of this project's other Massachusetts Tier A markets lack, relying on commuter rail alone. Quincy also carries the highest Asian population share of any Massachusetts city (approximately 29.8%, up from roughly 100 residents as of the 1960 Census to more than 28,000 today), a real, substantial, and currently thriving demographic identity. Quincy's housing runs genuinely expensive by national standards -- an average home value of approximately $621,968, close to Massachusetts's own $667,265 statewide average -- reflecting the city's real strength as a finance-and-insurance employer hub (State Street Corporation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts). This record discloses a real, distinct hazard specific to Quincy among this pass's four Massachusetts Tier A markets: genuine, currently active coastal flood risk along Boston Harbor, with approximately 28.8% of properties currently carrying flood risk (rising to 33% over 30 years), documented flooding in the 2018 nor'easters and a July 2025 flash flood, and over $5 million in historical NFIP claims from 1978 to 2007.

Explore Quincy in depth

• Moving to Quincy: Pros, Cons & What to Know
• Cost of Living in Quincy
• Housing Market in Quincy
• Buying a Home in Quincy
• Renting in Quincy
• Taxes in Quincy
• Homeowners Insurance & Natural Hazard Costs in Quincy
• Climate & Weather in Quincy
• Jobs & Economy in Quincy
• Schools in Quincy
• Crime & Safety in Quincy
• Healthcare in Quincy
• Traffic & Transportation in Quincy
• Best Areas to Live in Quincy
• Pros and Cons of Living in Quincy
• Retiring in Quincy
• Who Should / Shouldn’t Move to Quincy

Housing

Taxes

The tradeoffs

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits urban-living-focused buyers and young professionals who specifically value real, direct MBTA Red Line subway access into Boston over a commuter-rail-only alternative; households drawn to Quincy's genuine presidential and shipbuilding heritage and its real, current downtown redevelopment; finance- and insurance-sector professionals working at or near State Street Corporation or Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts; and beach-access buyers interested in Wollaston Beach who have separately confirmed flood-zone status for a specific target property.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for buyers seeking the most affordable housing among this pass's Massachusetts Tier A markets, given Quincy's real, disclosed average home value runs close to the state's own substantial statewide average; anyone who has not independently confirmed flood-zone status and flood-insurance requirements for a specific target Quincy address, given the city's real, disclosed, currently active coastal flood risk along Boston Harbor; and anyone relying on a single crime-rate framing without accounting for the real, disclosed conflict between Quincy's national-comparison and Massachusetts-relative crime figures.