Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
North Adams grades D− overall, 279th among Massachusetts's 282 graded towns, mostly because of safety and schools. Its crime rate is higher than 96% of U.S. towns, with 147 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Its schools rank behind 93% of the state's. One bright spot: it has 36 miles of trail and 36% conserved land. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 100% of U.S. towns, with 26 places on the National Register. North Adams’ violent crime rate is 11.8 per 1,000 residents, where Massachusetts’ towns sit at 1.4 and U.S. towns at 1.6. On incomes, just 2 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns do worse. Its National Register listings include Windsor Print Works and Freight Yard Historic District.
Where North Adams beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Monument Square-Eagle Street Historic District
Census counts: 10,191 in 1880, a peak of 24,200 in 1900, 12,961 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1860 and 8 maps from 1886 on.
26 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far North Adams is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around North Adams. Close and well known come first.
4 mi MountainMount Greylock
5 mi MuseumClark Art Institute
in town MuseumMassachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art
25 mi TheatreTanglewood
29 mi MuseumNorman Rockwell Museum
16 mi LandmarkBennington Battle MonumentMount Greylock: Jstergis, CC BY 3.0 · Clark Art Institute: Daderot, Public domain · Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art: N-Lange.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tanglewood: Daderot., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Norman Rockwell Museum: User:Rmrfstar, CC BY 2.5 · Bennington Battle Monument: Phil Boucher, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in North Adams, 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 North Adams.
North Adams keeps more of its land conserved than most of Massachusetts, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Massachusetts (mostly inland flooding) and reports violent crime at 4 times the Massachusetts rate.
Violent crime runs at 11.8 per 1,000 residents, 4 times the Massachusetts rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Property crime runs at 25.1 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Massachusetts rate, most of it theft.
North Adams’ property crime rate is 25.1 per 1,000 residents. North Adams reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 96% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Each of its 3 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its D, Williamstown highest at A−.
Its public schools are run by the North Adams school district. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Charles McCann Vocational Technical, with 514 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colegrove Park ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades 3–6 | Grades 3–6 | 369 | C− |
| Charles McCann Vocational TechnicalLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 514 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
The median rent in North Adams is $793 a month. The typical North Adams home is worth about $259,000, up 1.9% in a year, 60% below the Massachusetts typical home. 51% of North Adams households own their home.
| North Adams | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 51% | 79% | 73% |
| Median rent | $793 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its 4,782 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 90% of Massachusetts towns.
36 miles of trail in 19 parks and preserves. Mount Greylock State Reservation, at 968 acres with 5.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mount Greylock State Reservation | 5.4 mi | 968 |
| 2. Notch Reservoir | 4 mi | 782 |
| 3. Hoosac Range | 3.6 mi | 900 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 99% of Massachusetts towns, with expected losses of about $530 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Among 283 Massachusetts towns, just 4 have a higher FEMA risk score than North Adams. Since 1980, 12 flood insurance claims have been paid out in North Adams.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 4,841 U.S. towns with household incomes like North Adams’s, it is healthier than 76%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
North Adams beats the Massachusetts average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 22. 21% of adults report frequent mental distress in North Adams. Among 279 Massachusetts towns, just 6 have a higher share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than North Adams.
| North Adams | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 24% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | North Adams | MA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.5% | 5.9% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.8% | 11.9% |
| More smokers | 16.8% | 11.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
North Adams has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 13° and about 77 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
North Adams has about as many jobs (4,355) as working residents, but only 1,322 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 17.4 minutes, against 29.1 across Massachusetts.
About one in 4 of North Adams’s working residents works in town. No town among the 283 in Massachusetts we compare has a lower median household income than North Adams. Since 2013, North Adams has lost 490 jobs, to 4,355 in 2023.
| North Adams | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 28% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $48,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
2 within 15 miles of the center of North Adams
About 10 of every 100 North Adams residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
26 places in North Adams on the National Register of Historic Places.
39 notable people were born in North Adams.
City in Massachusetts, United States
North Adams is a city in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its population was 12,961 as of the 2020 census. Best known as the home of the largest contemporary art museum in the United States, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams has in recent years become a center for tourism, culture and recreation.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with North Adams.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Adams | #279 | D− | B− | D− | D | C |
| Clarksburg | — | — | C+ | — | C− | C+ |
| Williamstown | #109 | A− | D− | B+ | A− | A |
| Adams | #270 | D | C+ | C+ | C− | B− |
Clarksburg has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Clarksburg reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare North Adams with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
North Adams grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #279 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades C for health, D− for safety and D for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
39 notable people were born here, including Will Durant and Frank Vincent.
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