Bay State Atlas
Massachusetts Living Index

Pittsfield

Berkshires · pop. 43,500

Pittsfield is the Berkshires' only real city, walkable downtown, Barrington Stage Company, and home prices around $300K. Crime is elevated, schools are a B- at best, but the arts scene is genuine.

City LifeUrban WalkerCommuter Value
Livability Index
55
/ 100
Ranks #131 of 194 MA towns

The numbers

Median home
$306k
4.3× household income
Household income
$71k
ACS median
Commute to Boston
159 min
peak driving
Population
43,500
5-yr trend 48/100

How Pittsfield scores

Schools
65
Safety
48
Walkability
62
Transit
35
Biking
35
Dining
62
Nightlife
48
Arts & Culture
70
Green Space
30
Diversity
42
Climate
75

Who lives in Pittsfield

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

Median age
43.4
Foreign-born
6.8%
Bachelor's or higher
34.2%
Population
44k
White79.3%
Hispanic / Latino8.4%
Asian1.3%
Black5.5%
Other / multi5.5%

Schools in Pittsfield

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

Overall vs MA
Bottom 25%
17/100
ELA · 3-8
p14
25.9%
Math · 3-8
p11
23.2%
ELA · 10
p26
40.4%
Math · 10
p20
23.2%
Grad rate
84.1%
Bottom 25%
Spend / pupil
$22.7k
Above average
Teachers / 100
10.4
Top 10% in MA
Enrollment
4,876

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

The honest read

Best for
Urban buyers who want Berkshires access without summer-home prices and don't mind working-city tradeoffs.
The tradeoff
Schools are B- (Niche), crime is high for the region, and the commute to Boston is 2.5 hours, this is a lifestyle commitment.

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 Pittsfield lands for you.

Nearby towns

Bordering and adjacent Massachusetts towns near Pittsfield.

Pittsfield appears in

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

Popular comparisons

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

Want my honest read on Pittsfield?

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