Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Amherst Town grades A− overall, better than 78% of U.S. towns. It has 111 miles of trail and 36% conserved land. Residents are healthier than 89% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and crime is low: it reports less per resident than 80% of U.S. towns. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $538K, 6.2 years of the Amherst Town metro’s $87K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 95% of U.S. towns, with 16 places on the National Register. Amherst Town is a college campus (most residents are students), so it isn’t ranked among Massachusetts’s towns. 76% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Amherst Town, above both Massachusetts’ towns (47%) and U.S. towns (29%). Amherst Town is among the most walkable places in the country. Its National Register listings include Emily Dickinson House and Dickinson Historic District.
Where Amherst Town beats most towns.
Emily Dickinson House is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,233 in 1790, 39,263 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1754 and 6 maps from 1886 on.
16 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Amherst Town is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 3%), so the A− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Amherst Town. Close and well known come first.
18 mi National Historic SiteSpringfield Armory National Historic Site14K visitors a year
11 mi LakeQuabbin Reservoir
in town MuseumEmily Dickinson Museum
23 mi Theme parkSix Flags New England
in town MuseumEric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
40 mi MountainMount MonadnockSpringfield Armory National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain · Quabbin Reservoir: engineerchange, CC BY 2.0 · Emily Dickinson Museum: Daderot, Public domain · Six Flags New England: Canadaolympic989, Public domain · Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art: John Phelan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mount Monadnock: Jonwmcinenrey, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Amherst Town, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Amherst Town.
Amherst Town pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Massachusetts norm, is shaped by its college students and draws workers from Springfield and beyond.
Three of its 7 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. Public schools: the Amherst-Pelham school district. The 4 public schools in Amherst Town teach 1,404 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort River ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 371 | B |
| Amherst Regional HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 816 | A+ |
| Amherst Regional Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 366 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Its 6,271 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 89% of Massachusetts towns.
The trail network density in Amherst Town is 4.0 miles per square mile. Trails run 111 miles in 79 parks and preserves. Mount Holyoke Range State Park, at 954 acres with 11.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mount Holyoke Range State Park | 11.6 mi | 954 |
| 2. UMass Orchards | 4.5 mi | 79 |
| 3. Wentworth Farm Conservation Area | 3.1 mi | 113 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
18,222 jobs are based in Amherst Town, 2.1 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 18 minutes, against 29.1 across Massachusetts.
Among working residents in Amherst Town, 26% work locally. Only 2 of the 283 Massachusetts towns we compare have a higher share of residents below the poverty line than Amherst Town. The town’s average trip to work stands at 18 minutes. It had 18,222 jobs in 2023, up 2,336 from 2013.
| Amherst Town | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 24% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 26% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within Massachusetts it is healthier than 58% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar. Its widest gap with Massachusetts is cancer: 4.4% of its 35,728 adults have had cancer, against 8.5% statewide.
No town among the 279 in Massachusetts we compare has a lower share of adults who have diabetes than Amherst Town. 32% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Amherst Town. This Massachusetts town beats the Massachusetts average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. Only 5 of the 279 Massachusetts towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Amherst Town.
| Amherst Town | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 28% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 32% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 33% | 33% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 5.2% | 9.3% | 12% |
| What stands out | Amherst Town | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.4% | 8.5% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 5.2% | 9.8% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 9.9% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 8.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 67% of Massachusetts’s graded towns.
In Amherst Town, the property crime rate is 2.9 per 1,000 residents. Its violent crime rate comes in at 1.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Amherst Town | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.9 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.4 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
On expected storm and flood damage, Amherst Town sits below 78% of U.S. communities. FEMA puts 59% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 13% to hurricanes. Since 1991, one flood insurance claim has been paid in the town.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In July, afternoons reach 84°; in January, nights fall to 16°, and about 46 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Amherst Town grades A− overall with a typical home of about $538K, below the Massachusetts typical value; only 21 of the 109 Massachusetts towns graded A− or better can say that. 68.1% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 51.8% across Massachusetts.
A typical home in Amherst Town is worth about $538,000, up 3% in a year, 18% below the Massachusetts typical home. The share of households in Amherst Town who own their home: 44%. The rent at the middle of the market for Amherst Town comes to $1,671 a month.
| Amherst Town | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 44% | 79% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,671 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
7 within 15 miles of the center of Amherst Town
College town 60 of every 100 Amherst Town residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
3 colleges in town.
16 places in Amherst Town on the National Register of Historic Places.
29 notable people were born in Amherst Town.
City in Massachusetts, United States
Amherst ( ) is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. Amherst has a council–manager form of government, and is considered a city under Massachusetts state law. Amherst is one of several Massachusetts municipalities that have city forms of government but retain "The Town of" in their official names. At the 2020 census, the population was 39,263, making it the most populated municipality in Hampshire County (although the county seat is Northampton). The town is home to Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, three of the Five Colleges. Amherst has three census-designated places: Amherst Center, North …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Amherst Town.
It grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Granby (B+) comes closest. Granby next door grades lower for schools (D to Amherst Town’s B) and higher for cost of living (C to D−).
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amherst Town | – | A− | D− | A− | B | A |
| Granby | #120 | B+ | C | A | D | A |
| Hadley | #199 | B− | C− | D | B | A+ |
| Pelham | — | — | C− | A+ | B+ | A |
| South Hadley | #129 | B+ | C− | B | C | A |
| Leverett | — | — | D | A− | B | A |
| Shutesbury | — | — | D | A+ | B+ | A |
| Belchertown | #147 | B+ | C− | B+ | B− | A |
Pelham, Leverett and Shutesbury have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Compare Amherst Town with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Amherst Town grades A− overall, better than 78% of U.S. towns. Amherst Town is a college campus (most residents are students), so it isn’t ranked among Massachusetts’s towns. It grades A for health, A− for safety and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes, by national standards. Amherst Town reports less crime per resident than 80% of U.S. towns, an A− Safety Grade: 64 violent and 135 property crimes in 2025.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
29 notable people were born here, including Emily Dickinson and Helen Hunt Jackson.
