Best PlacesNorth Amherst, Amherst, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Amherst, Amherst, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
North Amherst, Amherst ranks 2,155th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in North Amherst, Amherst
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.
North Amherst, Amherst's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Amherst, Amherst ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA−, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
Where North Amherst, Amherst ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in North Amherst, Amherst
A household needs to earn about $166,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Amherst, Amherst home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $76,528, 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 North Amherst, Amherst's effective rate of 1.77%, 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 North Amherst, Amherst
North Amherst, Amherst runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Amherst, Amherst.
Who works in North Amherst, Amherst, and how
Work in North Amherst, Amherst centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 50%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 34%
Life in North Amherst, Amherst
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across North Amherst, Amherst.
What the weather is like in North Amherst, Amherst, month by month
North Amherst, Amherst 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 North Amherst, Amherst
Bradley International sits about 33 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 North Amherst, Amherst
Schools across North Amherst, Amherst average an A−, better than 92% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Wildwood ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Fort River ElementaryB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Amherst Regional Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Amherst Regional HighA+ · 80% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Amherst, Amherst school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Amherst, Amherst 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 North Amherst, Amherst against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in North Amherst, Amherst
Is North Amherst, Amherst a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Amherst, Amherst ranks 2,155th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on an educated workforce, tree cover, and good schools, and lowest on property taxes and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Amherst, Amherst expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $561,471. The overall cost of living runs about 8% above the national average. Set against a $76,528 median income, cost of living beats 37% of neighborhoods.
Is North Amherst, Amherst safe?
Yes, North Amherst, Amherst is safer than 83% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $271 per resident a year.
Compare North Amherst, Amherst with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Amherst, Amherst. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Amherst, Amherst 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.
North Amherst, Amherst detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Amherst, Amherst: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Amherst, Amherst: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Amherst, Amherst: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Amherst, Amherst: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Amherst, Amherst 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.