Jamaica Plain
Population 38,196
Median house price $384,250
Tax rate $10.99
Average single-family property tax $3,801 (State average, $3,799)
Transportation Centre Street. MBTA Orange and Green lines, bus and commuter rail.
MCAS Among 280 systems, Boston 10th-graders ranked 250th in English and 234th in math, ccording to a Globe analysis of 2006 results. Sixth-graders ranked 300th out of 305 systems in English and 294th in math. Third-graders ranked 292d out of 298 systems in reading and 283d in math.
Census facts Median family income is $41,624 compared to national rate of $50,046.
Website cityofboston.gov
Following the Boston Women's Heritage Trail through Jamaica Plain will lead one to the places that well-known artists, politicians, activists, and philanthropists once called home in this Boston neighborhood .
Stops on the trail include the childhood home of poet Sylvia Plath and that of Mother Mary Rogers, founder of the Maryknoll Sisters, and the home of Mary Curley, wife of James Michael Curley.
Once the refuge of the wealthy, drawn by the country like atmosphere, Jamaica Plain grew into a densely populated neighborhood with the arrival of street cars in the 1870s, which linked what was then an outlying area to downtown Boston. Jamaica Plain was first part of Roxbury and then West Roxbury, and became part of Boston in 1874.
Now, the neighborhood is known for its liberal attitudes, social and racial diversity, community groups and activists, and a variety of restaurants.
Green space includes the Arnold Arboretum, the oldest public arboretum in the United States, which was folded into Frederick Law Olmsted's Emerald Necklace of Boston when Olmsted designed the park system in the late 19th century.
Olmsted also incorporated another neighborhood landmark, 68-acre Jamaica Pond, into the necklace. The pond is stocked annually.
On a recent week, Realtor.com listed 28 single-family homes, ranging from $324,000 for a four-bed, two-bath, 1,547-square-foot home to $945,000 for a three-bed, 2 1/2 -bath 2,800-square-foot home. Median price of a single-family home through May was $384,250, according to Warren Group, which publishes real estate information.
JOHN RICHARDSON ELLEMENT 
