Hampshire County, MA
County Profile
162,028 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Hampshire County, MA.
Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 13 sourcesUnemployment is 4.2% and median household income $87,001, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.
In the public schools here, 50% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 10.8 students for every teacher.
Rent takes 33% of renter income here, at or above the threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, while buying strains owner incomes less — the median home is 3.4 times what its owners earn, against a historic benchmark near three.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 4.2% — higher than in all but 47% of the 1,467 measured US counties.
Employment fell 0.9% over the past year, to 81,652 employed residents.
52% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 98% of measured US counties.
Median household income of $87,001 is higher than in 88% of measured US counties.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023 | $67,955 | 70th percentileof 1,417 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023 | $67,628 | 73rd percentileof 1,417 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$3,0282024 ACS 5-Year | $87,001 | Top 12%of 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$1,5122024 ACS 5-Year | $45,568 | Top 12%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per-capita personal income2023 | $62,818 | Top 30%of 1,389 | 2023 |
| Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 8.6% | Top 17%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±0.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 24.8 min | Top 44%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 51.6% | Top 2%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 64.5% | 6th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJuly 2026 | 81,652 | Top 28%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)July 2026 | +0.7% | Top 41%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)July 2026 | −0.9% | Bottom 44%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJuly 2026 | 85,240 | 72nd percentileof 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year | 82.9% | Top 13%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 2.8% | 96th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026 | −0.1% | Bottom 43%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJuly 2026 | 4.2% | Bottom 47%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 18.4% | 94th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Unemployment rate
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Amherst Town-Northampton, MA
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 2,350 | $41,700 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 2,080 | $34,350 |
| Retail Salespersons | 1,790 | $36,630 |
| General and Operations Managers | 1,600 | $98,200 |
| Office Clerks, General | 1,400 | $52,190 |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 1,250 | $51,100 |
Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
50% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 57% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 10.8 students for every full-time teacher across 44 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain View School | Easthampton | 991 | 12.1 | — | — |
| Northampton High | Northampton | 875 | 14.8 | 72% | 75% |
| Amherst Regional High | Amherst-Pelham | 816 | 11.3 | 68% | 71% |
| Hampshire Regional High | Hampshire | 718 | 10.1 | 49% | 55% |
| Smith Vocational and Agricultural High | Northampton-Smith Vocational Agricultural | 587 | 9.0 | 37% | 47% |
| Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School · charter | Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter | 584 | 8.2 | 63% | 70% |
| John F Kennedy Middle School | Northampton | 577 | 10.3 | 44% | 53% |
| Belchertown High | Belchertown | 573 | 12.2 | 77% | 87% |
| Michael E. Smith Middle School | South Hadley | 505 | 11.5 | 36% | 37% |
| Chestnut Hill Community School | Belchertown | 494 | 15.0 | 41% | 39% |
| South Hadley High | South Hadley | 479 | 8.7 | 62% | 72% |
| William E Norris | Southampton | 475 | 12.8 | 38% | 48% |
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Massachusetts’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 3% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 102.8, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Amherst Town-Northampton, MA Metro Area is up 46% over five years, and up 2.4% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $5,589 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.43% of the median home value.
The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,388 a month.
A median home at $390,300 costs 3.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $113,554, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.
Prices here run about 3% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.
Published for the Amherst Town-Northampton, MA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.
The figures above are measured against Hampshire County’s median household income of $87,001, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Amherst Town-Northampton, MA Metro Area’s figure2023 | 102.8 | Bottom 17%of 887 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the Amherst Town-Northampton, MA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +2.4% | 26th percentileof 1,431 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the Amherst Town-Northampton, MA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +45.6% | 54th percentileof 1,431 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the Amherst Town-Northampton, MA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +84.1% | 33rd percentileof 1,431 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year | 3.4 | Bottom 19%of 3,217 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 67.8% | 22nd percentileof 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±1152024 ACS 5-Year | 66,786 | 86th percentileof 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median gross rent ±$322024 ACS 5-Year | $1,388 | Bottom 10%of 3,215 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$6,1752024 ACS 5-Year | $390,300 | 90th percentileof 3,219 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$1302024 ACS 5-Year | $5,589 | 97th percentileof 3,172 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$2,7612024 ACS 5-Year | $113,554 | Top 7%of 3,218 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.43% | 87th percentileof 3,126 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 32.7% | Bottom 11%of 3,216 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±2162024 ACS 5-Year | 1,051 | 75th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.6% | 36th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.4% | 20th percentileof 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±5702024 ACS 5-Year | 4,672 | 78th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
Population has grown 11% since 2020, reaching 165,399 in 2024.
Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 308 units authorized in 2025, 12% below the prior year.
68% of the 398 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.
Federal tax returns show Hampshire County lost about 0.4% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $67,955, close to the $67,628 of households that moved out.
At 2.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Hampden County, MA 1,616 people · 26% of arrivals
- Franklin County, MA 550 people · 8.9% of arrivals
- Worcester County, MA 405 people · 6.6% of arrivals
- Middlesex County, MA 397 people · 6.4% of arrivals
- Capitol Planning Region, CT 156 people · 2.5% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Hampden County, MA 1,878 people · 28% of departures
- Franklin County, MA 572 people · 8.7% of departures
- Middlesex County, MA 333 people · 5.0% of departures
- Worcester County, MA 333 people · 5.0% of departures
- Capitol Planning Region, CT 181 people · 2.7% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
Weather & climate
5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 16°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 45.2 inches.
Air quality measures a median index of 35, in the Good band, and about 2 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 51 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 45.2" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 16°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 85°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 2 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 35 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 48°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 67% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.
Overall hazard risk is lower than 83% of measured US counties.
Low or minimal exposure: inland flooding, strong wind, cold wave, hail, winter weather, wildfire, avalanche, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.
Hampshire County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.0 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at 8.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at 12.9 per 100,000 residents in Hampshire County.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Hampshire County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Reported crime
- Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
8 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Westover ARB/Metro at 12 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year | 92.9% | Top 9%of 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 12 mi | Top 12%of 1,463 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 8 | Top 2%of 1,463 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 3.9% | Top 5%of 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westover ARB/Metro | CEF | 12 mi | 11,597 ft |
| Westfield-Barnes Rgnl | BAF | 13 mi | 9,000 ft |
| Bradley Intl | BDL | 28 mi | 9,510 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyData & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing, Income | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.
Cities in Hampshire County, MA
ZIP areas
Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.