Berkshire County, Massachusetts

Berkshire County has a population of 129,430 and has shrunk 0.6% since the 2020 census. The median home is worth $305,400, about 4.0 times the county's median household income of $76,013.

Home price
$305,400
Income
$76,013
Population
129,430
Unemployment
5.4%

Housing

Home values, rent, property taxes, insurance and how local prices relate to local incomes.

Median home price$305,400county
Median gross rent$1,097county
Median year homes here were built1956county
Share of homes built before 198075.9%county
Share of homes that are manufactured or mobile1.5%county
Share of homes that are vacant17.7%county
Share of occupied homes that are rented30.1%county
Share of homes held for seasonal or occasional use11.5%county
Typical monthly rent$1,770county
HUD fair market rent, 2-bed$1,709county
HUD fair market rent, 1-bed$1,302county
HUD fair market rent, 3-bed$2,206county
Home insurance / yr$1,483(statewide)

Money

Household earnings and buying power. Adjusted income restates local income using the statewide cost-of-living index.

Cost of living141.2(statewide)
Median household income$76,013county
Family health premium / yr$28,151(statewide)
Infant childcare / yr$26,709(statewide)
Regular gas price / gal$4.046(statewide)
Poverty rate11.4%county

Jobs

What people here do for work, who they work for, whether they work from home, and how much of the local economy sits in one industry.

Workers who work from home14.2%county
Unemployment rate5.4%county
Share of adults in the labor force60.5%county
Share of workers who are self-employed8.8%county
Share of workers employed by government13.6%county
Share of workers in the largest industry32.7%county
Economic output per resident$70,812county

Taxes

State tax rules that can affect take-home pay, investments and everyday purchases.

Property tax rate1.32%county
Top state income tax9.00%(statewide)
Capital gains tax9.00%(statewide)
Combined sales tax6.25%(statewide)

Transportation

Distance to air travel and how people get around locally. Distances are straight-line from the county's population-weighted centre, so driving is further.

Mean commute time21.2 mincounty
Miles to nearest airport with airline service36 micounty
Passengers boarding at the nearest airline airport1490673county
Miles to nearest general aviation field4.2 micounty
Airports with airline service located here0county
General aviation airfields located here3county
Passenger train stations and the railway network1county
Miles to the nearest passenger rail station1.8 micounty
Households without a vehicle9.6%county
Traffic deaths17.0county
Change in traffic deaths per 100,0000.4(statewide)

Schools

Public schools and colleges counted where they actually sit, plus the education level of adults who live here. Students per teacher is a staffing measure, not a quality ranking.

Adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher40.0%county
Adults 25+ with a high school diploma or higher94.1%county
Public schools in the county48county
Public school enrollment14434county
Students per full-time teacher10.2county
Elementary schools28county
Middle schools5county
High schools9county
Institutions granting bachelor's degrees or above3county
Share of local colleges that are public75.0%county
Two-year institutions1county
Miles to the nearest bachelor's-granting institution17 micounty

Health

Primary care physicians110county
Medicare-certified hospitals in this county3county
Hospitals here with an emergency department3county
Average CMS star rating of hospitals here5county
Fine particulate matter7.8 µgcounty
Without health insurance1.7%county
Adults who were food insecure in the past year11.4%county
Adults who received food assistance in the past year14.1%county
Frequent mental distress17.2%county
No leisure-time physical activity25.4%county
Diagnosed diabetes10.9%county

Place

Who lives here and what the place is like: population, age, migration, safety and civic profile.

Population129,430county
Land area in square miles927county
People per square mile of land140.0county
Supermarkets and grocery stores25county
Convenience stores14county
Share living far from a food store15.5%county
Share living in a low-income, low-access tract25.5%county
Population change since 2020-0.6%county
Natural change per 1,000 residents-6county
Net international migration per 1,000 residents2county
Median age47.3 yrscounty
Share of residents under 1816.0%county
Share of residents 65 and over25.0%county
Share of households that are one person35.2%county
Share of residents born outside the United States6.2%county
Second languages8.1%county
Share of residents on a religious body’s rolls42.8%county
Congregations per 100,000 residents97county
Net domestic migration per 1,000 residents-2county
Households that moved in2,241county
Households that moved away2,429county
Average income of arriving households$100,672county
Average income of departing households$84,600county
Homes authorised per 1,000 existing homes2county
Housing units authorised in the latest year149county
Share of permitted homes in multifamily buildings37.6%county
Violent crime rate315(statewide)

Weather

Measured annual temperature, precipitation and snowfall. These are climate facts, not a ranking.

Avg. annual temperature46.3°Fcounty
Annual precipitation42.3 incounty
Annual snowfall52.9 incounty
Average daily solar energy3.69 kWh/m²county
Days reaching 90°F3 dayscounty
Days at or below freezing155 dayscounty

Gardening

Plant hardiness zoneZone 6acounty
Frost-free days159 dayscounty
Average last spring frostMay 5county
Average first fall frostOct 12county

Utilities

Average monthly electric bill$151county
Electric utilities serving this county2county
Electricity price per kWh31.8¢county
Household electricity use475 kWhcounty
Residential natural gas price$24.71(statewide)
Homes heated by electricity10.8%county
Homes heated by utility gas43.2%county
Homes heated by propane10.1%county
Homes heated by fuel oil30.0%county
Homes heated by wood3.6%county
Households with broadband90.3%county

Risk

Relative exposure to air pollution and natural hazards. Higher values indicate more measured risk, not a prediction.

Riverine flood risk90.6county
Coastal flood risk0.0county
Drought risk22.2county
Landslide risk82.5county
Hail risk52.7county
Earthquake risk72.1county
Tornado risk48.8county
Tropical cyclone risk83.6county
Extreme heat risk34.9county
Winter weather risk58.4county
Strong wind risk79.5county
Wildfire risk25.2county

Sports

Major pro teams based here0county
NFL teams based here0county
NBA teams based here0county
MLB teams based here0county
NHL teams based here0county
MLS soccer teams based here0county
Top-division college football teams0county
Second-tier college football teams0county
Affiliated minor league baseball teams0county
AHL teams based here0county
ECHL teams based here0county

Figures marked county are measured for Berkshire County directly. The rest are published at state level only and show the Massachusetts figure — see methodology for each source and its limits.

Similar counties in Massachusetts

Compare Berkshire with anywhere else

Put this county side by side with any other in the country, or weight the factors that matter to you and rank all 50 states.

Open Berkshire in the map