Bay State Atlas
Massachusetts Living Index

Amherst

Pioneer Valley · pop. 39,263

UMass plus four colleges, the Norwottuck Rail Trail, and Pioneer Valley farmland.

College TownOutdoors & Trails
Livability Index
74
/ 100
Ranks #9 of 194 MA towns

The numbers

Median home
$545k
8.4× household income
Household income
$65k
ACS median
Commute to Boston
123 min
peak driving
Population
39,263
5-yr trend 66/100

How Amherst scores

Schools
82
Safety
84
Walkability
52
Transit
36
Biking
55
Dining
74
Nightlife
68
Arts & Culture
80
Green Space
86
Diversity
78
Climate
70

Who lives in Amherst

U.S. Census ACS 2018–2022 estimates. Rounded.

Median age
21.3
Foreign-born
16.4%
Bachelor's or higher
72.3%
Population
33k
White67%
Hispanic / Latino8%
Asian13.4%
Black4.2%
Other / multi7.4%

Schools in Amherst

Amherst School District. Massachusetts DESE FY2024 (FY2025 graduation rates).

Overall vs MA
Below average
35/100
ELA · 3-8
p62
51%
Math · 3-8
p54
48.3%
ELA · 10
p12
0%
Math · 10
p11
0%
Grad rate
Spend / pupil
$30.0k
Top 10% in MA
Teachers / 100
11.1
Top 10% in MA
Enrollment
983

Source: Massachusetts DESE Education-to-Career Research and Data Hub. Percentile ranks against 194 MA towns in our index.

The honest read

Best for
Academics, remote workers, and families who don't need Boston.
The tradeoff
Too far west for Boston commuters.

You've now seen the honest read. Here's what most sites don't give you.

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Compare on your terms

These scores reflect a neutral weighting. Your priorities are not neutral. Open the full atlas to tune schools, walkability, affordability, commute, and seven more dimensions, and see where Amherst lands for you.

Nearby towns

Bordering and adjacent Massachusetts towns near Amherst.

Amherst appears in

Rankings where Amherst qualifies on the data. See where it lands vs the other 14 picks.

Popular comparisons

Common head‑to‑heads people search when looking at Amherst.

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