Best PlacesChicopee, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Chicopee, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Chicopee ranks 1,616th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. Internet speeds pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on clean air.
The best neighborhoods in Chicopee
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Chicopee's strengths and weaknesses
Where Chicopee ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 88% of cities
- TransitBetter than 87% of cities
- Short commute21.3 minutes each way, better than 81% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than 78% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than 76% of cities
Where Chicopee ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 4% of cities
- QuietBetter than only 7% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 8% of cities
- Local economyBetter than only 14% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 14% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Chicopee
A household needs to earn about $77,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Chicopee home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $66,430, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Chicopee's effective rate of 1.28%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Chicopee
Chicopee runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Chicopee.
Who works in Chicopee, and how
Work in Chicopee centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Chicopee
Chicopee has more restaurants and bars per resident than 69% of cities and more parkland per resident than 89% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Chicopee and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Chicopee, month by month
Chicopee sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 28° | 18° |
| April | 62° | 48° | 35° |
| July | 88° | 74° | 61° |
| October | 68° | 53° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Chicopee
Bradley International sits about 17 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 3.3 million passengers in 2025, with 92 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Chicopee
Schools across Chicopee average a C−, better than 20% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Streiber Memorial SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- BowieC · 32% proficient
- Lambert-lavoieC · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chestnut Accelerated Middle School (talented And Gifted)C+ · 37% proficient
- Paul R Baird MiddleD+ · 24% proficient
- Bellamy MiddleD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Ludlow Senior HighA− · 64% proficient
- Chicopee Comprehensive High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Hampden Charter School Of Science EastC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Chicopee school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Chicopee measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Chicopee against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Chicopee suits
Families
Schools land around the 20th percentile and crime safety beats 59%.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Chicopee
Is Chicopee a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Chicopee ranks 1,616th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on clean air, transit, and short commutes, and lowest on internet speeds and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Chicopee expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $274,819. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $66,430 median income, cost of living beats 8% of cities.
Is Chicopee safe?
Yes, Chicopee is safer than 59% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $275 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Chicopee?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 39 with lows near 18. That works out to about 64 pleasant days a year, more than 14% of cities.
Is Chicopee good for families?
Schools beat 20% of cities, crime safety beats 59%, and childcare runs $1,385 a month.
Compare Chicopee with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Chicopee. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Chicopee represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Chicopee detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Chicopee: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Chicopee: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Chicopee: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Chicopee: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Chicopee detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.