Boston Ranks as One of the Best Cities for Boaters

Photo by Leslie Stormes on Flickr/Creative Commons

Those strolling along the Harborwalk may not be surprised at a new report from real estate firm Redfin—Boston ranked among the top 10 cities in the country for boaters. It’s pretty evident from the rows of yachts that line the city’s wharves, and from all those Instagrammable sailboats sprinkled in the harbor.

Redfin calculated the top spots to live and play on the water by looking at a few different factors: the number of listings on the waterfront, the median sale price of waterfront homes, the number of months with average high temperatures, and the total number of registered boats in the state.

The firm’s data scientists considered 35 major metropolitan areas, analyzing home sales between 2011 and 2015, collecting boat registration data, and temperature information from The Weather Channel. Each category was ranked on a scale of 1 through 10, and then the scores were averaged.

After all of that, Boston clocked in at number nine. Here’s the breakdown:

Portion of listings on waterfront: 4.5%
Median sale price of a waterfront home: $424,550
Months with average high temperature of more than 60 degrees: 6
Total number of registered boats in Massachusetts: 135,750

While boaters and sailors cruise up and down the shoreline, another set of marine lovers in the city set up shop along the Charles River. Redfin cites the Head of the Charles Regatta as one instance of boating excellence.

“The Charles River attracts a lot of people who are into crew and sailing,” says Katie Gustafson, a Boston-based Redfin agent. “The whole Seaport District is based around crew. There are also a lot of cruise ships that come in and out of the port, so that area is always busy. People definitely want to be near the action, which is near the water.”

Plus, the report adds that Boston is home to the Boston Harbor Islands—a national park that’s only accessible by boat.

At number nine, Boston beat out Seattle at number 10, but was topped by cities like Naples, Baton Rouge, and Chicago. You can see the full ranking here.