Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Buckland’s best subject grades are an A− for walkability and health and an A+ for history; its weakest is a C− for cost of living. Only 18 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns score lower on hazard risk. Buckland's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 96% of U.S. towns. Buckland’s trail density is 0.7 miles per square mile, below the Massachusetts town median (1.8) but above the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Only 17 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns score lower on the outdoors. Buckland has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Buckland beats most towns.
Maj. Joseph Griswold House
Census counts: 718 in 1790, 1,816 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 1850 and 6 maps from 1886 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Buckland is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Buckland. Close and well known come first.
20 mi MountainMount Greylock
35 mi National Historic SiteSpringfield Armory National Historic Site14K visitors a year
30 mi LakeQuabbin Reservoir
39 mi MountainMount Monadnock
39 mi Theme parkSix Flags New England
23 mi MuseumClark Art InstituteMount Greylock: Jstergis, CC BY 3.0 · Springfield Armory National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain · Quabbin Reservoir: engineerchange, CC BY 2.0 · Mount Monadnock: Jonwmcinenrey, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Six Flags New England: Canadaolympic989, Public domain · Clark Art Institute: Daderot, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Buckland, 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 Buckland.
Values rose 1.6% in the 12 months to September 2026. Buckland’s typical rent is $1,111 a month. For households locally, the share who own their home is 75%.
| Buckland | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,111 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 75% | 79% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The public schools here belong to the Mohawk Trail school district. The largest public high school is Mohawk Trail Regional School, with 316 students. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mohawk Trail Regional SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 316 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
84% of adults in Buckland had a checkup this year; 38% have high blood pressure. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Buckland is ahead of Massachusetts on 7 and behind on 6. Buckland: 15% of adults binge drink.
| Buckland | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 28% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 84% | 82% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 32% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Buckland | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.1% | 11.1% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.8% | 5.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.1% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs in Buckland fell by 112 from 2013 to 2023, to 316. Just 7% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. Also worth knowing: in Buckland, 13% of residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Greenfield (13%), Shelburne (10%) and Northampton (5%).
| Buckland | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $83,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 14% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Among residents in Buckland, 26% are 65 or older. 44% of adults 25 and older hold at least a bachelor’s degree, against 47% across Massachusetts. The town’s midpoint age stands at 49.5 years.
| Buckland | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 49.5 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 26% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 17% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 44% | 47% | 29% |
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.6 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Buckland | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.2% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.7% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.3% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.6% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.6% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.3% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 16.5% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.9% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.1% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.4% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.6% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.5% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 19.4% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,800, single groups can be off by several points
Paid flood insurance claims in Buckland since 2010: 8. Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in just over two thirds of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 76% come from inland flooding and 8% from cold waves. Federal aid has come to Buckland households in 9 declared disasters; the latest was in 2013.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Buckland’s typical July afternoon high comes in at 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Among 277 Massachusetts towns, just 3 have a lower rate of reported violence than Buckland. Buckland's reported crime rate is well below Massachusetts's. No violent crime was reported locally.
| Buckland | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 6.1 | 13.1 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.8 |
FBI crime data, 2023 · crimes reported to police
15 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. Walnut Hill Woods, at 109 acres with 1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Parks and preserves in Buckland: 3, covering 150 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Walnut Hill Woods | 1 mi | 109 |
| 2. Kenneth Dubuque Memorial State Forest | — | 37 |
| 3. Veterans Memorial Field | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Buckland
About 3 of every 100 Buckland residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
Where Buckland’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 places in Buckland on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Buckland.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Buckland is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,816 at the 2020 census. The town shares the village of Shelburne Falls with neighboring Shelburne. The town center at Shelburne Falls is the western end of the Bridge of Flowers, a local tourist attraction. Buckland is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Buckland.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buckland | — | — | C− | — | C− | A− |
| Shelburne | — | — | C− | A− | C− | A− |
| Charlemont | — | — | C | — | D− | A− |
| Shelburne Falls | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Conway | — | — | D | — | B− | A |
Buckland, Shelburne, Charlemont and Conway have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Buckland, Charlemont and Conway report no FBI crime data of their own. Shelburne Falls isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Buckland with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. That is 5.2 years of the area's median household income ($74,907 across the Greenfield, MA area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
4 notable people were born here, including Mary Lyon and William Fiske Sherwin.
