Best PlacesHampden County, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hampden County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Hampden County ranks 1,064th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on childcare costs and noise. It does better on transit, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in Hampden County
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.
The best areas in Hampden County
The parts of Hampden County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
East Longmeadow & Hampden
Tree cover is thicker, it is quieter, and more adults hold degrees.
Agawam Town & Southwick
Incomes run higher, though fewer households have young kids.
Westfield & West Springfield Town
Prices have run up less and crime runs lower.
Wilbraham
Streets are more car-dependent and biking is worse.
Ludlow, Palmer Town & Indian Orchard
Transit reaches fewer jobs.
Longmeadow
Fewer residents vote and health care is harder to reach.
Holyoke
Schools score lower and more homes sit empty.
Chicopee
Local pay stretches less far.
Springfield
Homes cost less, though health outcomes score lower.
Hampden County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 2% of the country and others in the top 2%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Hampden County's strengths and weaknesses
Hampden County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Transit is the standout, in the top 2% of counties. Big-city access and walkability follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. Noise and an overheated housing market also cost it ground. Cost swings more from one part of Hampden County to another than it does between Hampden County and its neighbors, which the map below shows.
Where Hampden County ranks high
- TransitBetter than 98% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of counties
- BikingBetter than 89% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 87% of counties
Where Hampden County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,385 a month, better than only 4% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 4% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 9% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 63 pleasant days a year, better than only 10% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 11% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hampden County
A household needs to earn about $85,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hampden County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $79,431; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Hampden County's effective rate of 1.38%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Hampden County
Hampden County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Hampden County.
Who works in Hampden County, and how
Work in Hampden County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Hampden County
Hampden County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 94% of counties and more parkland per resident than 86% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Hampden County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Hampden County growing, and who is moving in?
Hampden County has lost about 1% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Boston, MA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hampden County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hampden County, month by month
Hampden County sees roughly 63 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 Hampden County
Bradley International sits about 14 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 Hampden County
Schools across Hampden County average a C, better than 41% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Norfeldt SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Colebrook Consolidated SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Hartland SchoolA · 67% proficient
Top middle schools
- King Philip Middle SchoolA · 64% proficient
- Glenbrook MiddleA− · 55% proficient
- East Shore Middle SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
Top high schools
- Tantasqua Regional Sr HighA+ · 80% proficient
- Longmeadow HighA · 78% proficient
- Hall High SchoolA · 76% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hampden County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hampden County 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 Hampden County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Hampden County suits
Families
Schools land around the 41st percentile and crime safety beats 83%.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Hampden County
Is Hampden County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hampden County ranks 1,064th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on transit, big-city access, and walkability, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hampden County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $300,814. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $79,431 median income, cost of living beats 39% of counties.
Is Hampden County safe?
Yes, Hampden County is safer than 83% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $275 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Hampden County?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 39 with lows near 18. That works out to about 63 pleasant days a year, more than 10% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Hampden County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are East Longmeadow & Hampden, Agawam Town & Southwick, and Westfield & West Springfield Town. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Hampden County good for families?
Schools beat 41% of counties, crime safety beats 83%, and childcare runs $1,385 a month.
Is Hampden County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 39% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 57% of counties. About 11% of workers already work from home.
Compare Hampden County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hampden County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hampden County 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.
Hampden County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hampden County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hampden County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hampden County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hampden County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hampden County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.