City · Hampshire County, Massachusetts

Northampton, Massachusetts

Northampton is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, part of the Amherst Town-Northampton, MA metro area. It has 30,962 residents. Northampton, Massachusetts has a quality-of-life score of 82 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,816 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Massachusetts it ranks #141 of 225 cities and towns. It ranks best on mental health providers (high), flu vaccinations (high) and public EV charging ports (high). It ranks worst on new business applications (low), income inequality (Gini index) (high) and rent-burdened households (high).

82Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,816 of 15,651 cities and towns
Massachusetts: #141 of 225 in MA
Population: 30,962 (2020-2024)
Land area: 34 mi²
Density: 904.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 2546330

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety74#3,994/15,637
Economy35#10,176/15,631
Housing7#13,880/14,977
Health88#1,937/15,609
Healthcare97#430/15,650
Environment68#4,888/15,453
Education91#1,484/15,649
Infrastructure90#1,528/15,650
Community59#6,437/15,651
Leisure & amenities83#2,678/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Northampton, Massachusetts ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Hampshire County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Mental health providers · high1,150 /100k
99/100Massachusetts 787 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHampshire County value
Flu vaccinations · high61.0%
99/100Massachusetts 55.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHampshire County value
Public EV charging ports · high21.3 /10k
96/100Massachusetts 16.4 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyHampshire County value
Students per teacher · low10.7×
96/100Massachusetts 11.9×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsHampshire County value
Adult obesity · low23.9%
95/100Massachusetts 26.9%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Traffic deaths · low5.3 /100k
94/100Massachusetts 5.4 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataHampshire County value

Weaknesses

New business applications · low6.9 /1k
2/100Massachusetts 11.1 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauHampshire County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.501
6/100Massachusetts 0.489United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Rent-burdened households · high57.6%
14/100Massachusetts 51.8%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Comfortable days · low23.5%
14/100Massachusetts 24.3%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationHampshire County value
Depression · high28.1%
14/100Massachusetts 24.4%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Home price to income ratio · high5.3×
15/100Massachusetts 5.4×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
28,516 (2015-2019) → 30,962 (2020-2024)
+8.6%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
1.2 /1k (2021) → 0.7 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−39%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
86.0% (2015-2019) → 92.4% (2020-2024)
+6.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$66,522 (2015-2019) → $80,288 (2020-2024)
+21%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
53.7% (2015-2019) → 57.6% (2020-2024)
+4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
60.1% (2015-2019) → 62.7% (2020-2024)
+2.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Northampton, Massachusetts improved on 2 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 12 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Broadband+6.5 points86.0% → 92.4%
Household income+21%$66,522 → $80,288

Declined1

Unemployment+1.8 points3.7% → 5.5%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Northampton, Massachusetts between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.6 min2015-2019	21.4 min2020-2024	−0.2 min	Within the margin of error	50%
Bachelor's degree or higher	60.1%2015-2019	62.7%2020-2024	+2.6 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Broadband subscriptions	86.0%2015-2019	92.4%2020-2024	+6.5 points	Improved	40%
Child poverty rate	14.5%2015-2019	15.5%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Effective property tax rate	1.38%2015-2019	1.30%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	33%
High school diploma or higher	93.8%2015-2019	94.9%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Home price to income ratio	5.0×2015-2019	5.4×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	57%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4882015-2019	0.5012020-2024	+0.012	Within the margin of error	40%
Median household income	$66,5222015-2019	$80,2882020-2024	+21%	Improved	34%
Poverty rate	13.7%2015-2019	13.4%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Public transit commuters	2.8%2015-2019	2.8%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Rent as share of income	31.4%2015-2019	32.9%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	43%
Rent-burdened households	53.7%2015-2019	57.6%2020-2024	+4 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Unemployment rate	3.7%2015-2019	5.5%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Declined	19%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	2.4%2015-2019	1.7%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	55%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Northampton, Massachusetts five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Northampton, Massachusetts in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Northampton, Massachusetts itself moved −2.4 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

30,962 residents (±29)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

13,467 households (±356)

Northampton, Massachusetts
Massachusetts share

Under $25k16%2,158
$25k–50k18%2,478
$50k–75k12%1,679

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

13,467 households (±356)

Northampton, Massachusetts
Massachusetts share

Own57%7,711
Rent43%5,756

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

15,433 workers (±547)

Northampton, Massachusetts
Massachusetts share

Drive alone57%8,856
Carpool5.5%846
Public transit2.8%†427

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Amherst Town-Northampton, MA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Hampshire County, the county holding most of Northampton's residents.

Hampshire County has 3,491 employer establishments, 211 for every 10,000 residents (0.85× the US rate of 248; 0.81× Massachusetts's), with 49,009 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,520. The Census Bureau also counts 14,183 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,491; 14,183 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 211; US 248 · Massachusetts 260
Paid employees: 49,009
Average annual pay: $51,520; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Hampshire County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	307	18.6	1.01×About typical	4,819	$25,465	27
Ambulatory health care services	262	15.9	0.76×Fewer than typical	3,382	$71,789	1,341
Specialty trade contractors	253	15.3	0.99×About typical	1,322	$75,747	801
Full-service restaurants	137	8.3	1.08×About typical	2,150	$28,720	13
Services to buildings and dwellings	131	7.9	1.18×About typical	642	$43,500	454
Construction of buildings	129	7.8	1.03×About typical	489	$65,106	306
Schools, colleges and instruction	111	6.7	1.92×More than typical	9,618	$43,702	965
Building equipment contractors	109	6.6	1.10×About typical	567	$71,503	183
Limited-service restaurants	106	6.4	0.80×Fewer than typical	1,863	$23,719	8
Landscaping services	101	6.1	1.75×More than typical	346	$55,861	199
Lessors of real estate	99	6	0.49×Fewer than typical	411	$50,482	1,109
Offices of other health practitioners	94	5.7	0.94×About typical	465	$57,344	984

Rank places for an industry Open Hampshire County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 165,217 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $96.4M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Northampton, Massachusetts: $3,115 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $96.4M; +13% vs FY2025
Per resident: $3,115; US $1,994
Sole-source: 54%; US 30%
Single offer: 26%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Navy$49.9M52%
Department of Veterans Affairs$29.1M30%
Defense Contract Management Agency$14.4M15%
Defense Logistics Agency$3.1M3.2%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$219.5K0.2%

Top recipients

L3 TECHNOLOGIES INC$39.7M41%
L3 TECHNOLOGIES, INC.$27.6M29%
VETERANS CONSTRUCTION LLC$5.6M5.8%
CORNERSTONE CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, LLC$4M4.1%
DAV ENERGY SOLUTIONS, INC.$2.2M2.3%

Spending by fiscal year

90.8MFY2017
131.3MFY2018
124.7MFY2019
115.7MFY2020
143.4MFY2021
141.6MFY2022
230.6MFY2023
107.1M

Top industries (NAICS)

Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$68.7M71%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362$12.2M13%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$3.1M3.2%
Building equipment contractors · 2382$2.2M2.3%
Community food and housing, and emergency and other relief services · 6242$1.3M1.4%
Other ambulatory health care services · 6219

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Northampton, Massachusetts

DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT, TESTING, SYSTEM SUPPORT, AND PRODUCTION OF SUBMARINE PHOTONICS MASTS$418.7M
L3 TECHNOLOGIES, INC.· Hampshire County, MA· Professional services· Jul 2, 2020 – Jun 10, 2026· N0002420C6249
PIO ORDERS$130.6M
L3 TECHNOLOGIES, INC.· Hampshire County, MA· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Nov 22, 2016 – Oct 24, 2025· N0002415C6250
EHRM INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES - CENTRAL WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS$65.5M
RICHARD GROUP LLC· Hampshire County, MA· Construction & real property· Sep 27, 2023 – Aug 25, 2026· 36C77623C0115
MK20 EOSS MOD 1

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Northampton, Massachusetts, so they do not add up across cities.

Northampton, Massachusetts's figures are part of those of Hampshire County, MA ($144.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 67% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Northampton is mostly in Hampshire County.

See federal money in Hampshire County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Northampton, Massachusetts is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Hampshire County86100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Amherst Town-Northampton, MA90

Other cities and towns in Hampshire County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2546330

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends