Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Deerfield grades B+ overall, 137th among Massachusetts's 282 graded towns. It has 63 miles of trail. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 88% of the country and the median household earns $106K. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $456K for a typical one and 6.1 times the Greenfield area’s $75K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 97% of U.S. towns, with 1 place on the National Register. Deerfield’s mean commuting time is 18 minutes, below both Massachusetts’ towns (30 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Deerfield is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 87% of U.S. towns. Old Deerfield Village Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Deerfield beats most towns.
Old Deerfield Village Historic District is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,330 in 1790, a low of 1,330 in 1790, 5,090 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1865 and 6 maps from 1890 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Deerfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Deerfield. Close and well known come first.
28 mi National Historic SiteSpringfield Armory National Historic Site14K visitors a year
19 mi LakeQuabbin Reservoir
29 mi MountainMount Greylock
35 mi MountainMount Monadnock
33 mi Theme parkSix Flags New England
37 mi TheatreTanglewoodSpringfield Armory National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain · Quabbin Reservoir: engineerchange, CC BY 2.0 · Mount Greylock: Jstergis, CC BY 3.0 · Mount Monadnock: Jonwmcinenrey, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Six Flags New England: Canadaolympic989, Public domain · Tanglewood: Daderot., CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Deerfield, 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 Deerfield.
Deerfield trades workers with Northampton and other neighbors and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Massachusetts.
Within Massachusetts it is healthier than 53% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar.
Deerfield does better than the Massachusetts average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 1. For adults here, the share who have obesity is 25%. 18% of adults in Deerfield binge drink; 19% get no exercise outside work.
| Deerfield | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 28% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 19% | 25% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 81% | 82% | 79% |
| What stands out | Deerfield | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.3% | 12.4% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9% | 11.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Two of its 3 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. The largest public high school is Frontier Regional, with 588 students. The public schools here belong to the Frontier school district.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deerfield ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 301 | C+ |
| Frontier RegionalLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 588 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Mount Sugarloaf State Reservation, at 530 acres with 7.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Deerfield’s density of trails is 1.9 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves in the town: 8, covering 1,220 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mount Sugarloaf State Reservation | 7.4 mi | 530 |
| 2. Connecticut River Greenway State Park | 1.3 mi | 407 |
| 3. Pine Nook Forest | 0.5 mi | 73 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
A typical home in Deerfield is worth about $456,000, up 2.5% in a year, 30% below the Massachusetts typical home. The median rent here is $1,334 a month. Deerfield: 78% of households live in a home they own.
| Deerfield | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,334 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 78% | 79% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The range runs from 15° on a January night to 85° on a July afternoon, with about 46 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In Deerfield, nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or older. Adults 35 to 64 are 47% of residents (39% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (24% statewide). For Deerfield, the midpoint age is 51.8 years. Here, 44% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, against 47% in Massachusetts as a whole.
| Deerfield | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 13% | 20% | 22% |
| Median age | 51.8 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 44% | 47% | 29% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.5 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Deerfield | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.1% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.1% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.5% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.5% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.7% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 21.2% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.8% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.1% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.3% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20.2% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.5% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.6% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.5% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 20.9% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Flood insurance has paid out on 10 claims in Deerfield since 1979. Compared with 66% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage here is lower. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Deerfield after 9 declared disasters, most recently in 2013. Two thirds of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by hurricanes at 11%.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Massachusetts has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Deerfield sits closer to the middle. The rate of reported violence for Deerfield comes to 2.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Deerfield | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.3 per 1,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.2 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Deerfield has about as many jobs (2,930) as working residents, but only 398 people both live and work here. Jobs based here fell from 3,935 in 2013 to 2,930.
Employers in Deerfield shed 1,005 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 2,930. Commuting out is the norm here: 16% of working residents work locally. The top destinations are Northampton (10%), Greenfield (8%) and Amherst Town (8%). Half commute less than 12 miles.
| Deerfield | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $106,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.8% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
6 within 15 miles of the center of Deerfield
About 8 of every 100 Deerfield residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Massachusetts.
17 notable people were born in Deerfield.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Deerfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Settled near the Connecticut River in the 17th century during the colonial era, the population was 5,090 as of the 2020 census. Deerfield is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area in western Massachusetts, lying 30 miles (48 km) north of the city of Springfield. Deerfield includes the villages of South Deerfield and Old Deerfield, which is home to two museums: Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association and Historic Deerfield, Inc. Historic Deerfield is designated as a National Historic Landmark district, and the organization operates a museum with a focus on decorative arts, early American materia…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Deerfield.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Sunderland (B−) comes closest.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deerfield | #137 | B+ | D | B | B− | A |
| Greenfield | #274 | D | C− | C− | D− | B |
| Montague | #258 | D | C− | C+ | D | B+ |
| Conway | — | — | D | — | B− | A |
| Sunderland | #194 | B− | D− | B+ | B− | A |
| South Deerfield | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Whately | — | — | C | A− | B | A |
| Shelburne | — | — | C− | A− | C− | A− |
Conway, Whately and Shelburne have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Conway reports no FBI crime data of its own. South Deerfield isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Deerfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Deerfield grades B+ overall, better than 67% of U.S. towns and #137 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A for health, B for safety and B− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes, by national standards. Massachusetts has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Deerfield sits nearer the middle.
17 notable people were born here, including Edward Hitchcock and Susan Huntington Gilbert Dickinson.
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