Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Pelham’s best subject grades are an A+ for safety and the outdoors and an A for health; its weakest is a C− for cost of living. 65% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Pelham, above both the Massachusetts town median (47%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). On safety, just 5 of Massachusetts’ 300 towns do better. 58% of the land in Pelham is conserved, where Massachusetts’ towns sit at 19% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Quabbin Reservoir Reservation, at 6,797 acres with 10.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Pelham has 1 place on the National Register. Pelham has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Pelham beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,040 in 1790, a low of 455 in 1930, 1,280 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1890 and 7 maps from 1887 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 Pelham is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pelham. Close and well known come first.
Big draw37 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
6 mi LakeQuabbin Reservoir
20 mi National Historic SiteSpringfield Armory National Historic Site14K visitors a year
26 mi Theme parkSix Flags New England
37 mi MountainMount Monadnock
5 mi MuseumEmily Dickinson MuseumLake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Quabbin Reservoir: engineerchange, CC BY 2.0 · Springfield Armory National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain · Six Flags New England: Canadaolympic989, Public domain · Mount Monadnock: Jonwmcinenrey, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Emily Dickinson Museum: Daderot, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pelham, 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 Pelham.
72 miles of trail in 17 parks and preserves. Pelham’s trail density is 2.7 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Quabbin Reservoir Reservation | 10.3 mi | 6,797 |
| 2. Amherst Water Supply Land | 8.5 mi | 1,593 |
| 3. Cadwell Memorial Forest | 4 mi | 1,113 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Pelham school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pelham ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 128 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
No town among the 278 in Massachusetts we compare has a lower property crime rate than Pelham. The violent crime rate in Pelham is 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Pelham | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
25% of adults have high blood pressure in Pelham. Pelham beats the Massachusetts average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 22% of adults have obesity in Pelham.
| Pelham | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 28% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 33% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 32% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8% | 9.3% | 12% |
| What stands out | Pelham | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with obesity | 21.6% | 27.7% |
| Fewer adults with high cholesterol | 28.3% | 35.4% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 8.8% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Since 2013, Pelham has added 28 jobs, to 151 in 2023. 0.7% of Pelham working residents work locally. The top destinations are Springfield (13%), Belchertown (13%) and Amherst Town (11%).
| Pelham | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.7% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $114,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 10% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Pelham home is worth about $506,000, about the same as a year ago, 23% below the Massachusetts typical home.
| Pelham | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,205 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 79% | 79% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 68% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Pelham has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 15° and about 46 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
6 within 15 miles of the center of Pelham
About 2 of every 100 Pelham residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
6 notable people were born in Pelham.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Pelham is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,280 at the 2020 census. Its ZIP Code is shared with Amherst. Pelham is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. That is 5.8 years of the area's median household income ($87,001 across the Amherst Town-Northampton, MA metro 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−.
6 notable people were born here, including Abby Kelley Foster and William Otis.
