Massachusetts Living Index

South Hadley

Pioneer Valley · pop. 17,800

South Hadley is Mount Holyoke College's home, a residential town with strong arts access from the Five Colleges consortium, affordable housing, and a quiet downtown strip.

College TownFamily Suburb

Livability Index

/ 100

Ranks #103 of 194 MA towns

The numbers

Median home

$379k

4× household income

Household income

$94k

ACS median

Commute to Boston

105 min

peak driving

Population

17,800

5-yr trend 58/100

How South Hadley scores

Schools

Safety

Walkability

Transit

Biking

Dining

Nightlife

Arts & Culture

Green Space

Diversity

Climate

The honest read

Best for

Academic families, college staff, and buyers who want Five Colleges access without Amherst prices.

The tradeoff

No commuter rail and limited retail; the town is economically anchored to the college and feels quiet outside of the academic calendar.

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 South Hadley lands for you.

Open South Hadley in the atlas About Gary Browse all 194 towns

Nearby towns

Bordering and adjacent Massachusetts towns near South Hadley.

Popular comparisons

Common head‑to‑heads people search when looking at South Hadley.

South HadleyvsHolyoke

58 · 53livability

Side‑by‑side →

South HadleyvsChicopee

58 · 50livability

Side‑by‑side →

South HadleyvsAmherst

58 · 74livability

Side‑by‑side →

Want my honest read on South Hadley?

I'm Gary Fikes, a licensed real estate agent at MP Signature Realty and the curator of this site. Tell me what you're looking for and I'll reply personally within 1 business day. No auto-dialer, no spam, no resale.

Ask Gary about South Hadley More about Gary