What is the cost of living in Amherst Town-Northampton?

Amherst Town-Northampton has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 100.2, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 97.5, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $2,004/month.

What is the median salary in Amherst Town-Northampton?

The median salary in Amherst Town-Northampton is $76,696 annually (mean: $81,360). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Amherst Town-Northampton?

The violent crime rate in the Amherst Town-Northampton area is 309 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1101 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Amherst Town-Northampton?

The state of MA has 1,831 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 12.3:1. Charter schools make up 4.2% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Amherst Town-Northampton?

Infant center-based childcare in the Amherst Town-Northampton area averages $20,571 per year. Preschool averages $14,656/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Amherst Town-Northampton a good place to relocate?

Amherst Town-Northampton has a Life Score of 36/100 (F), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This places Amherst Town-Northampton in the bottom decile of scored metros; compare individual dimensions to see where the biggest gaps are.

Where does Amherst Town-Northampton sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Amherst Town-Northampton ranks #162 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Amherst Town-Northampton, MA

BEA RPP 100.2 ranks #304 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

100.2
Cost index (US=100): $2,004
2BR rent / mo: $76,696
Median salary: 53.3
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Amherst Town-Northampton ranks #162 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (53.3/100), with its strongest marks in job market and schools.

#162
of 387 US metros · Above median: 7,136,171
metro-area population: 309
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,831
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: housing (8/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Amherst Town-Northampton ranks #162 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 100.2 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $2,004/mo, median salary $76,696; LiveAbility Score 53.3/100, strongest in job market and schools.

Signature: BEA RPP 100.2 ranks #304 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 100.2 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $2,004/mo.

LiveAbility 53.3/100 keeps Amherst Town-Northampton in the middle third (#162 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Amherst Town-Northampton area is 59,110.

Amherst Town-Northampton vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

53 Top 42% higher than 58% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

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 and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Amherst Town-Northampton housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Amherst Town-Northampton MSA; housing RPP 97.5 (100 = national average); 2BR $2,004/mo.

Studio

$1,382

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,580

/month

2 Bedroom

$2,004

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,504

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,702

/month

Amherst Town-Northampton wages and employment

Amherst Town-Northampton posts 59,110 total employment with median salary $76,696 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$76,696

Mean Salary

$81,360

Total Employment

59,110

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$41,700
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$34,350
Retail Salespersons	$36,630
General and Operations Managers	$98,200
Office Clerks, General	$52,190

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Amherst Town-Northampton area from NCES.

Schools

1,831

Enrollment

918,103

Student:Teacher

12.3:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Amherst Town-Northampton area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$20,571

per year

Toddler (Center)

$18,516

per year

Preschool (Center)

$14,656

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Amherst Town-Northampton's composite Life Score is 36/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

22/100

Weak

Wages

95/100

Elite

Rent

8/100

Bottom decile

Crime

53/100

Average

Schools

7/100

Bottom decile

Childcare

2/100

Bottom decile

Environment

29/100

Weak

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Amherst Town-Northampton ranks #162 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 53.3/100 - a composite of 7 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data (missing dims omitted; remaining weights renormalized). Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Job market (95/100)

Job market

95
Schools

93
Low hazard

90
Safety

53
Climate

28
Cost of living

22
Housing

8

What this shows Amherst Town-Northampton's strongest dimensions are job market and schools; its weakest among scored dims is housing at 8/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%; this metro uses 7 of 8 dims with renormalized weights.

Compare Amherst Town-Northampton to

Casper Cedar Rapids Chambersburg Champaign-Urbana Charleston-North Charleston Charleston

Metros near Amherst Town-Northampton on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Amherst Town-Northampton on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Amherst Town-Northampton cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Amherst Town-Northampton wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Amherst Town-Northampton?

Amherst Town-Northampton runs a $76,696 median salary at a 100.2 cost index, ranking #162 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Amherst Town-Northampton's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Amherst Town-Northampton head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Amherst Town-Northampton
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.