Randolph

Randolph is home to a portion of the Blue Hills Reservation and Camp Ponkapoag (above), which is part of the Appalachian Mountain Club. (JOSH REYNOLDS FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE/FILE 2007)

Median home price: Singlefamily, $259,500; Condominiums,$177,750
Residential tax rate: $9.58
Average tax bill: $3,148
Choice location: Blue Hills Reservation
Cocktail party nugget: No one is quite sure why the town is called Randolph. When incorporated in 1793 Governor John Hancock simply wrote the name Randolph on town papers.
SOURCES: Warren Group, Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Randolph Historical Society, US Census

THE GOODS: Despite being surrounded by highways, Randolph maintains a townlike feel with a real center. Busy Main Street is lined with hotels, pizza shops, drug stores, banks, gas stations, and two large supermarkets, evidence of a vibrant business community. Another commercial district is located on the Avon border, near the ramp to Route 24, with a large movie theater, a smattering of restaurants, gas stations, and department stores. The MBTA provides bus and commuter rail service and Brockton Area Transit has bus stops.

PROS: When Route 28 bends toward Avon, the urban buzz fades away and nice raised ranches and Colonials are found on sheltered, small cul-de-sacs. Streets radiating off Route 28 in the center of town have mostly older New England farmhouses and small lots in classic walk-around neighborhood environment.

New construction is usually in smaller cul-de-sacs, but can offer large homes - some with four bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths - for far less than surrounding communities. The housing stock along Route 28 features Victorians and sprawling New England farmhouses with attached breezeways.

CONS: The state Department of Education nearly took over the town's faltering schools in 2008, but residents voted to increase property taxes to support a two-year revitalization plan.

JOHN R. ELLEMENT