Published in the March 17, 2017 edition.

WAKEFIELD — The town is considered by one source to be one of the best places in the country to “build wealth.”

Wakefield is ranked 181st of 250  communities around the U.S. where young people can best amass their personal fortune.

“Many young careers are focused around this central question: What must I do to begin adding zeroes to my bank account? Getting a high-paying job and investing in the stock market are two wealth-building actions that come to mind, but there are also other things to consider,” according to LendEDU.

LendEDU has created the “Best Cities for Building Wealth” list to assist all of the ambitious Americans looking to amass their own personal fortune.

In the LendEDU rankings, they looked at various factors that would affect a person’s ability to build wealth. LendEDU’s list was not so much focused on what you can do to line your pockets, but rather how much your place of residence will contribute to your monetary prosperity. The parameters that we evaluated included median earnings from income, median home value, average monthly cost of home, and property tax rates. Each parameter for each city was assigned a weighted score on a 100 point scale based on the percentile it fell into. Once each city had a score for each parameter, a total score was found on a 100 point scale (100 being the best).

Wakefield was given a score of 64.48. Its median earnings from income is $49,080; its average home value is $406,900, and the town’s average cost of home per month is $1,881.

“What does it mean to ‘build wealth?’” LendEDU asks. “The purpose of our list is to recognize the American cities that are most conducive to both saving and making money. For example, a city where homes are more valuable would indicate an opportunity for a potential home-buyer to make a profitable investment. Additionally, a city where property taxes are low would give a person the chance to save money.

“LendEDU’s list does not interpret building wealth as becoming the next Bill Gates or Warren Buffett. Our concept of building wealth is the ability to do things like buying a second home, paying for your child’s education, or retiring comfortably.”