Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Shelburne’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. 38% of residents are 65 or older in Shelburne, where Massachusetts’ towns sit at 19% and U.S. towns at 18%. Only 17 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns score lower on hazard risk. 23% of the land in Shelburne is conserved, above both the Massachusetts town median (19%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). No town in Massachusetts scores higher than Shelburne on civic life. Its National Register listings include Odd Fellow's Hall and Bardwell's Ferry Bridge. Shelburne has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Shelburne beats most towns.
Odd Fellow's Hall
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1882.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Shelburne is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Shelburne. Close and well known come first.
35 mi National Historic SiteSpringfield Armory National Historic Site14K visitors a year
25 mi MountainMount Greylock
26 mi LakeQuabbin Reservoir
34 mi MountainMount Monadnock
28 mi MuseumClark Art Institute
37 mi TheatreTanglewoodSpringfield Armory National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain · Mount Greylock: Jstergis, CC BY 3.0 · Quabbin Reservoir: engineerchange, CC BY 2.0 · Mount Monadnock: Jonwmcinenrey, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Clark Art Institute: Daderot, Public domain · Tanglewood: Daderot., CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Shelburne, 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 Shelburne.
People 65 and older are 38% of residents (18% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 9% of residents (24% statewide). The median age in Shelburne is 57 years. 52% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 47% across Massachusetts.
| Shelburne | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 57 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 13% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 52% | 47% | 29% |
Somewhere between 42% and 65% women
The Census survey reached too few of Shelburne’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±11.4 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Shelburne | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.6% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.9% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.6% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 4.4% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 24.2% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 14.2% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.5% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20.6% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.2% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.1% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.2% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 25.6% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,900, single groups can be off by several points
Its public schools are run by the Mohawk Trail school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buckland-Shelburne RegionalLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 270 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Shelburne beats the Massachusetts average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 26% of adults have obesity in Shelburne.
| Shelburne | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 28% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 84% | 82% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 32% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Shelburne | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.7% | 5.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.1% | 11.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.1% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Shelburne home is worth about $428,000, up 0.8% in a year, 35% below the Massachusetts typical home. Shelburne’s median rent is $1,080 a month.
| Shelburne | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,080 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 68% | 79% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave Shelburne for work: only 12% work in town. Jobs based in Shelburne grew to 587 in 2023, 62 more than in 2013. 10% of Shelburne residents live below the poverty line.
| Shelburne | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $83,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 10% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 9.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
14 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is High Ledges Wildlife Sanctuary, 781 acres with 4.4 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. High Ledges Wildlife Sanctuary | 4.4 mi | 781 |
| 2. Shelburne State Forest | 0.9 mi | 80 |
| 3. Wells Memorial Forest | — | 59 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 68% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Shelburne since 2013.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Shelburne has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 14° and about 37 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1 within 15 miles of the center of Shelburne
About 3 of every 100 Shelburne residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
Where Shelburne’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 places in Shelburne on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Shelburne.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Shelburne is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,884 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village of Shelburne Falls is located partly in Shelburne and neighboring Buckland.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Shelburne.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelburne | — | — | C− | A− | C− | A− |
| Conway | — | — | D | — | B− | A |
| Buckland | — | — | C− | — | C− | A− |
| Charlemont | — | — | C | — | D− | A− |
| Deerfield | #137 | B+ | D | B | B− | A |
| Shelburne Falls | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Greenfield | #274 | D | C− | C− | D− | B |
Shelburne, Conway, Buckland and Charlemont have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Conway, Buckland and Charlemont report no FBI crime data of their own. Shelburne Falls isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Shelburne with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. That is 5.7 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−.
5 notable people were born here, including Stephen Wright Kellogg and Fidelia Fisk.
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