What stands out worked out from the figures below

Northampton has the most people working from home (24.1%).

Greenfield has the most affordable homes ($263k median).

What matters to you?

Pick a few. We’ll pull those rows to the top and mark which town comes out ahead on each. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Raising kidsAffordabilityOwning a homeShort commuteWorking from homeYounger crowdSettled, older crowdGrowing town

Measure	Northampton	Greenfield
People
Population	30,962Highest	17,664Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census	+3.6% MA: +7.4%	—
Median age	41.3±2.2Lowest 3% above MA	44.6±2.1Highest 12% above MA
	Greenfield and Northampton are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	16%±1.8Lowest MA: 19.4%	18.3%±1.9Highest MA: 19.4%
	Greenfield and Northampton are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	20.4%±1.7Lowest MA: 17.9%	23.4%±2.2Highest MA: 17.9%
	Greenfield and Northampton are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	62.7%Highest MA: 47.3%	39.1%Lowest MA: 47.3%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	14%±1.4Highest MA: 7.9%	3.7%±0.9Lowest MA: 7.9%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$80,288±$6kHighest 23% below MA	$55,614±$7kLowest 47% below MA
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$429,700±$17kHighest 24% below MA	$263,100±$16kLowest 53% below MA
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,439±$75Highest 18% below MA	$1,107±$67Lowest 37% below MA
Property taxmedian, yearly	$5,680Highest 5% below MA	$4,769Lowest 20% below MA
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	57.6%±6.7Lowest MA: 51.8%	63.2%±7.3Highest MA: 51.8%
	Greenfield and Northampton are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	13.4%Lowest MA: 10%	15.2%Highest MA: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	57.3%Highest MA: 62.5%	55.7%Lowest MA: 62.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1955Highest 9 yrs older than MA	1947Lowest 17 yrs older than MA
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	21 minHighest 26% below MA	17 minLowest 40% below MA
Work from home	24.1%±3.4Highest MA: 18.6%	11.9%±2.4Lowest MA: 18.6%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#159 of 282 in MA	#257 of 282 in MA
School district	Northampton · Northampton-Smith Vocational Agricultural	Greenfield
High school in town	Northampton High	Greenfield High
Students per teacherat that high school	14.7Highest	10.9Lowest
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	None yet	None yet

MA average · Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020–2024; 2010 & 2020 decennial census; NCES Common Core of Data. “±” is the Census margin of error. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. School rank compares math and reading proficiency against the state average.