Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Massachusetts

Buckland, Massachusetts

Buckland is a small town of about 1,800 people in Franklin County, Massachusetts. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.9 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Hartford, is about 57 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,812
down 0% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$321,400
Franklin County prices up 27% since 2022
Household income
$82,877
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Massachusetts
98.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Greenfield, MA
To Hartford
57 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 1.4% below the U.S. average in the parts of Massachusetts outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Buckland itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byBaystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityHartford is about 57 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Buckland meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$321,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 27%Franklin County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,111 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$82,877U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
75%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$4,761 a yearMassachusetts: $5,992
Homes built before 1940
46%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
4%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
98.6U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Massachusetts outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 27% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Massachusetts outside metro areas, not Buckland alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,8122020: 1,812
Median age
49.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
26%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
44%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (30%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (17%); construction (11%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
31 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
14%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
13%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Baystate Franklin Medical Center, Greenfield, MA, about 10 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

2 public schools in Buckland, run by Mohawk Trail.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Massachusetts's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
85%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
94%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
9°F
July average high
75°F
Days 90°F or hotter
0 a year
Nights at or below freezing
179 a year
Rain and melted snow
49.6 inches a year
Snow
85 inches a year
Elevation
615 feet

Weather stations: E Hawley (4 miles away) and Ashfield (6 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Baystate Franklin Medical Center, Chicopee, Hartford.

Franklin County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail18 miles
  • Springfield Armory National Historic Site35 miles
  • New England National Scenic Trail36 miles
  • Martin Van Buren National Historic Site49 miles
  • Saratoga National Historical Park50 miles

Read about Buckland's history on Wikipedia.

Know Buckland?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Hawley, MA350 people, 6 miles
  • Heath, MA721 people, 7 miles
  • Plainfield, MA643 people, 9 miles
  • Rowe, MA417 people, 9 miles
  • Goshen, MA943 people, 11 miles
  • Leyden, MA725 people, 11 miles
  • Cummington, MA803 people, 11 miles
  • Savoy, MA655 people, 12 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.