Best websites to research schools, crime, taxes (renting, purchasing)

[Josselyn]

Hello,

We have been renting but are thinking about purchasing a home. Can anyone recommend some good websites to check the school systems, crime statistics and tax rates. Thanks

[snatale1]

The most accurate data will be on the states website, Mass.Gov, what area are you looking into? Alot of good data here too!

[Valerie C]

Josselyn, there is a wealth of information right here on CD that is not part of the forum area. These are especially helpful if you've started narrowing down particular areas. Check it out:

//www.city-data.com/city/Massachusetts.html

//www.city-data.com/schools-dirs/schools-MA.html

I find the boston.com website helpful if you're looking for MCAS results. Here are the 2010 results:
Rankings on recent MCAS tests

And the Commonwealth Communities part of the mass.gov website can point you to individual town pages, give info such as state aid, services available in town, etc. Here's the link: http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=mg2termi...&csid=massgov2

Hope these are helpful links for your search

[donewithpretty]

I use two sites a lot:



School Matters (http://www.schoolmatters.com/ - broken link) - Look at individual school test scores and demographics, and compare within the state.

For many stats, of course, use city-data!

[rtmcgowan]

Besides the mass.gov site, here are two more ranking schools:

www.schooldigger.com

www.greatschools.com