PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Amherst Town-Northampton, MA

33.0
Life Score / 100
F
Grade (curved)
#378
of 387 metros
2%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Amherst Town ranks #378 of 387 US metros, ahead of 2% - carried by its wages (95/100) and held back most by childcare (2/100).

95
strongest: Wages
49
then: Safety
2
weakest: Childcare
7
weighted dimensions

Where Amherst Town sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

33 2th percentile higher than 2% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). This entry sits in this band. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Above this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Amherst Town Life Score

Amherst Town's composite score of 33.0 out of 100, a grade of F, places the metro at rank #378 of 387, ahead of 2% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (95/100) and Safety (49/100), which pull the composite upward, while Childcare (2/100) and Environment (3/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 100.2 (rent-RPP 97.5). BLS median salary $76,696, 59,110 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $2,004/mo (studio $1,382).

FBI UCR (MA): 309 violent, 1101 property/100K. NCES: 12.3:1 ratio, 4.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $20,571/yr. EPA: 41 Superfund sites (MA). Ranks #375-#381 below.

Dimension detail

How Amherst Town scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 22/100 (20%)
Wages 95/100 (20%)
Rent 8/100 (15%)
Safety 49/100 (15%)
Schools 7/100 (10%)
Childcare 2/100 (10%)
Environment 3/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

100.2
Cost Index (RPP)
$76,696
Avg Median Salary
$2,004
2BR Fair Market Rent
309
Violent Crime/100K (MA)
12.3:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$20,571
Infant Childcare/yr (MA)
41
Superfund Sites (MA)
59,110
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Amherst Town With...

Amherst Town vs Providence Compare → Amherst Town vs Pittsfield Compare → Amherst Town vs Springfield Compare → Amherst Town vs Wildwood Compare → Amherst Town vs Waterloo Compare → Amherst Town vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Amherst Town outranks 2% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#375 Barnstable Town, MA 33.2 F
#376 Ithaca, NY 33.9 F
#377 Helena, MT 34.0 D
#378 Amherst Town-Northampton, MA 33.0 F
#379 Albuquerque, NM 32.9 F
#380 Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO 32.8 F
#381 Boulder, CO 32.6 F

MA Metro Scores

Providence-Warwick, RI-MA B- 48.6 Pittsfield, MA C 45.0 Springfield, MA C 44.8 Worcester, MA C 42.1 Barnstable Town, MA F 33.2 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH F 30.0

Using Amherst Town's Life Score

Amherst Town is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is wages (95/100) and its weakest is childcare (2/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Amherst Town head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Amherst Town lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Amherst Town's biggest strengths? ▼
Amherst Town's strongest dimensions are Wages (95/100), Safety (49/100), Cost of Living (22/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Amherst Town's weakest areas? ▼
Amherst Town's lowest-scoring dimensions are Childcare (2/100), Environment (3/100), Schools (7/100). Childcare weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Amherst Town compared to the national average? ▼
Amherst Town's Regional Price Parity is 100.2 (0.2% more than national); rent RPP 97.5.
What is the average salary in Amherst Town? ▼
Amherst Town median salary: $76,696, 59,110 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Amherst Town's 33.0/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.