Best PlacesWest Stockbridge, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Stockbridge, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
West Stockbridge ranks 6,824th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in West Stockbridge
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.
West Stockbridge's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Stockbridge ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of towns
- Household income$125,617 median, better than 94% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 93% of towns
Where West Stockbridge ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,385 a month, better than only 6% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 8% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Stockbridge
A household needs to earn about $152,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Stockbridge home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $125,617, 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 West Stockbridge's effective rate of 0.74%, 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 West Stockbridge
West Stockbridge 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 West Stockbridge.
Who works in West Stockbridge, and how
Work in West Stockbridge centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 62%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in West Stockbridge
West Stockbridge has more parkland per resident than 99% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of West Stockbridge and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Stockbridge, month by month
West Stockbridge sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 25° | 16° |
| April | 58° | 45° | 34° |
| July | 83° | 71° | 59° |
| October | 63° | 51° | 40° |
Flying in and out of West Stockbridge
The nearest airport, Albany International, is about 37 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 44 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Stockbridge
Schools across West Stockbridge average a B+, better than 74% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Richmond ConsolidatedB+ · 52% proficient
- MorrisB · 50% proficient
- Muddy Brook Regional Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- W.e.b. Du Bois Regional Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Monument Mt Regional HighA− · 65% proficient
- Lenox Memorial HighB+ · 55% proficient
- Lee Middle/high SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Stockbridge school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Stockbridge 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 West Stockbridge against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Stockbridge
Is West Stockbridge a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Stockbridge ranks 6,824th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on an educated workforce, health care access, and high incomes, and lowest on an overheated housing market and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Stockbridge expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $587,666. The overall cost of living runs about 18% above the national average. Set against a $125,617 median income, cost of living beats 90% of towns.
Is West Stockbridge safe?
Yes, West Stockbridge is safer than 65% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $261 per resident a year.
Compare West Stockbridge with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Stockbridge. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Stockbridge 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.
West Stockbridge detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Stockbridge: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Stockbridge: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Stockbridge: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Stockbridge: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Stockbridge 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.