Pioneer Valley Towns, Compared
The Connecticut River valley in the west — Springfield and its cities at the south end, the Five College area around Amherst and Northampton at the north, and the lowest housing costs we cover.
Of the 17 Pioneer Valley towns we cover, Wilbraham has the strongest school tier and Palmer is closest to downtown Boston at about 103 minutes, and Holyoke is the cheapest at roughly $340k for a 4BR house. 0 of them have MBTA rail.
Every Pioneer Valley town
Sorted by school tier, then commute to Boston. Every column links through to the town’s own page.
| # | Town | Schools | 4BR house | Commute | Rail | Tax rate | Est. bill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilbraham | strong schoolsT2 | $550kT1 | 112 minT4 | None | $16.00T4 | ≈$8,800 |
| 2 | Longmeadow | strong schools · Niche 30thT2 | $600kT2 | 120 minT4 | None | $20.50T4 | ≈$12,300 |
| 3 | Belchertown | solid schoolsT3 | $500kT1 | 106 minT4 | None | $16.00T4 | ≈$8,000 |
| 4 | Ludlow | solid schools · Niche 121stT3 | $420kT1 | 111 minT4 | None | $16.01T4 | ≈$6,700 |
| 5 | Amherst | solid schools · Niche 31stT3 | $675kT2 | 112 minT4 | None | $16.91T4 | ≈$11,400 |
| 6 | South Hadley | solid schoolsT3 | $450kT1 | 114 minT4 | None | $16.50T4 | ≈$7,400 |
| 7 | East Longmeadow | solid schools · Niche 118thT3 | $500kT1 | 118 minT4 | None | $15.50T4 | ≈$7,800 |
| 8 | Northampton | solid schools · Niche 58thT3 | $700kT2 | 121 minT4 | None | $13.67T3 | ≈$9,600 |
| 9 | Agawam | solid schoolsT3 | $425kT1 | 122 minT4 | None | $14.10T3 | ≈$6,000 |
| 10 | Easthampton | solid schoolsT3 | $450kT1 | 122 minT4 | None | $15.50T4 | ≈$7,000 |
| 11 | Westfield | solid schoolsT3 | $440kT1 | 126 minT4 | None | $15.04T4 | ≈$6,600 |
| 12 | Southwick | solid schoolsT3 | $450kT1 | 130 minT4 | None | $15.50T4 | ≈$7,000 |
| 13 | Palmer | mixed schoolsT4 | $400kT1 | 103 minT4 | None | $16.50T4 | ≈$6,600 |
| 14 | Springfield | mixed schoolsT4 | $375kT1 | 116 minT4 | None | $15.46T4 | ≈$5,800 |
| 15 | Chicopee | mixed schoolsT4 | $420kT1 | 116 minT4 | None | $15.24T4 | ≈$6,400 |
| 16 | Holyoke | mixed schoolsT4 | $340kT1 | 120 minT4 | None | $17.43T4 | ≈$5,900 |
| 17 | West Springfield | mixed schoolsT4 | $400kT1 | 121 minT4 | None | $14.02T3 | ≈$5,600 |
How this region is defined: “Pioneer Valley” has no legal boundary, so we use the membership of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission rather than drawing our own line. Data last reviewed . See the methodology for every source.
