Amherst Town composite
35.9 /100
Grade D · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Amherst Town vs Springfield
Amherst Town-Northampton, MA and Springfield, MA side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 35.9
- Amherst Town Life Score
- D
- Amherst Town grade
- 38.8
- Springfield Life Score
- D
- Springfield grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Amherst Town scores higher on 3 (wages, safety, childcare) and Springfield on 4 (cost of living, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Amherst Town Springfield ◗
cost of living
22
37
wages
91
82
rent
8
19
safety
56
55
schools
10
11
childcare
2
1
environment
27
28
Amherst Town and Springfield differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Amherst Town has a cost-of-living index of 100.2 vs Springfield's 96.1 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $76,696 in Amherst Town and $72,417 in Springfield. A 2-bedroom averages $2,004/mo vs $1,734/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Amherst Town vs Springfield Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Amherst Town and Springfield works out to $3,240 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Amherst Town carries the same local purchasing power as $95,828 in Springfield - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 308.8 per 100,000 residents in MA vs 308.8 in MA, with property-crime rates of 1101.2 and 1101.2 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: MA lists 1,831 public schools at a 11.9:1 student-teacher ratio, while MA lists 1,831 schools at 11.9:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $20,571/yr in the Amherst Town area versus $20,571/yr in Springfield - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Amherst Town and Springfield are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Springfield composite
38.8 /100
Grade D · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
1 pts
Springfield cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
1 pts
Amherst Town safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Amherst Town
Amherst Town composite (Grade D)
Springfield
Springfield composite (Grade D)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Amherst Town | Springfield |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 100.2 | 96.1 |
| Goods | 97.0 | 97.0 |
| Services | 155.7 | 155.0 |
| Rents | 97.5 | 75.8 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Springfield gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Amherst Town?
$
Equivalent in Springfield:
$95,828
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Amherst Town: 100.2, Springfield: 96.1, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Amherst Town | Springfield |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,382/mo | $1,219/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,580/mo | $1,382/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $2,004/mo | $1,734/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $2,504/mo | $2,127/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,702/mo | $2,296/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Amherst Town | Springfield |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $76,696 | $72,417 |
| Total Employment | 59,110 | 191,450 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Amherst Town (MA) | Springfield (MA) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 308.8 | 308.8 |
| Property Crime | 1101.2 | 1101.2 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | MA | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,831 | 1,831 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 11.9:1 | 11.9:1 |
| Charter Schools | 4.2% | 4.2% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | MA | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $20,571/yr | $20,571/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $18,516/yr | $18,516/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $14,656/yr | $14,656/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | MA | MA |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 461 | 461 |
| Water Systems | 564 | 564 |
| Superfund Sites | 41 | 41 |
| Water Violations | 1,140 | 1,140 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Amherst Town | Springfield |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 37.7 | 40.0 |
| Good Air Days | 83.1% | 76.4% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | N/A | 5 days |
Amherst Town air quality shown at state level. Springfield has metro-level data.
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | MA | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 6/100 | 6/100 |
| Total Violations | 73,886 | 73,886 |
| Health-Based Violations | 7,389 | 7,389 |
| Systems with Violations | 95.2% | 95.2% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | MA | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 76/100 | 76/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 24.5% | 24.5% |
| HPSA Designations | 171 | 171 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | MA | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 25/100 | 25/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 78.8 | 78.8 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 82.3 | 82.3 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Amherst Town more expensive than Springfield? ▼
Amherst Town has a cost of living index of 100.2 compared to Springfield's 96.1 (national average = 100). Amherst Town is 4.2 points above Springfield on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Amherst Town and Springfield? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $2,004/mo in Amherst Town vs $1,734/mo in Springfield, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,382/mo to $1,219/mo.
How do salaries compare between Amherst Town and Springfield? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $76,696 in Amherst Town and $72,417 in Springfield, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Amherst Town has the same purchasing power as $95,828 in Springfield.
Is Amherst Town or Springfield safer? ▼
At the state level, MA has a violent crime rate of 308.8 per 100,000 residents compared to MA's 308.8 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1101.2 vs 1101.2 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Amherst Town and Springfield? ▼
MA has 1,831 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 11.9:1, while MA has 1,831 schools at 11.9:1. Charter schools make up 4.2% of MA schools vs 4.2% in MA. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare