What stands out worked out from the figures below

Turners Falls has the shortest commute (18 min average).

Montague has the most people working from home (14.9%).

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	Turners Falls	Montague
People
Population	4,124Lowest	8,482Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census	+0.9%Lowest MA: +7.4%	+1.7%Highest MA: +7.4%
Median age	42.9±4.3Lowest 7% above MA	44.3±3.1Highest 11% above MA
	Montague and Turners Falls are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	19.3%±4Highest MA: 19.4%	19%±2.8Lowest MA: 19.4%
	Turners Falls and Montague are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	21.4%±3.6Lowest MA: 17.9%	23.5%±3.2Highest MA: 17.9%
	Montague and Turners Falls are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	34.2%Lowest MA: 47.3%	37.5%Highest MA: 47.3%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	1.5%±1.1Lowest MA: 7.9%	3.7%±1.3Highest MA: 7.9%
	Montague and Turners Falls are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$54,772±$5kLowest 47% below MA	$70,510±$12kHighest 32% below MA
	Montague and Turners Falls are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$246,700±$18kLowest 56% below MA	$282,100±$17kHighest 50% below MA
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,116±$140Lowest 37% below MA	$1,207±$115Highest 31% below MA
	Montague and Turners Falls are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$3,650Lowest 39% below MA	$3,922Highest 35% below MA
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	60.9%±11.7Lowest MA: 51.8%	64.6%±8.6Highest MA: 51.8%
	Montague and Turners Falls are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	12.4%Highest MA: 10%	11.5%Lowest MA: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	55.7%Lowest MA: 62.5%	62.7%Highest MA: 62.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1946Lowest 18 yrs older than MA	1951Highest 13 yrs older than MA
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	18 minLowest 37% below MA	21 minHighest 28% below MA
Work from home	6.6%±3.1Lowest MA: 18.6%	14.9%±4.2Highest MA: 18.6%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	—	#265 of 282 in MA
School district	—	Franklin County Regional Vocational Technical · Gill-Montague
High school in town	—	Franklin County Technical
Students per teacherat that high school	—	11.7
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.