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Chesterfield, Massachusetts

Chesterfield is a small town of about 1,200 people in Hampshire County, Massachusetts. It has lost about 3% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.8 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 43 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,154
down 2.5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$390,800
Hampshire County prices up 21% since 2022
Household income
$103,967
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Amherst Town area
100.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Northampton, MA
To Hartford
43 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 0.2% above the U.S. average in the Amherst Town-Northampton metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 0.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Hampshire Regional High, about 6 miles away.
  • A hospital close byCooley Dickinson Hospital Inc,the in Northampton, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityHartford is about 43 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 Chesterfield 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
$390,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 21%Hampshire County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,078 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$103,967U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
92%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$5,969 a yearMassachusetts: $5,992
Homes built before 1940
31%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
15%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
100.2U.S. average = 100 (the Amherst Town-Northampton metro area)

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 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Amherst Town-Northampton metro area, not Chesterfield 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
1,1542020: 1,184
Median age
44.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
24%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
19%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
34%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%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%); construction (15%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (11%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
31 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
13%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
6%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Cooley Dickinson Hospital Inc,the, Northampton, MA, about 10 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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

1 public school in Chesterfield, run by Chesterfield-Goshen. The nearest public high school is Hampshire Regional High, about 6 miles away.

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
81%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
91%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
12°F
July average high
80°F
Days 90°F or hotter
2 a year
Nights at or below freezing
168 a year
Rain and melted snow
54.1 inches a year
Snow
77 inches a year
Elevation
1,332 feet

Weather station: Worthington (4 miles away). 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: Cooley Dickinson Hospital Inc, Chicopee, Hartford.

Hampshire County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Chesterfield Center Historic District and the West Chesterfield Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail15 miles
  • New England National Scenic Trail22 miles
  • Springfield Armory National Historic Site23 miles
  • Martin Van Buren National Historic Site44 miles
  • Saratoga National Historical Park57 miles

Read about Chesterfield's history on Wikipedia.

Know Chesterfield?

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

  • Goshen, MA943 people, 4 miles
  • Cummington, MA803 people, 7 miles
  • Middlefield, MA392 people, 9 miles
  • Plainfield, MA643 people, 10 miles
  • Peru, MA791 people, 10 miles
  • Montgomery, MA838 people, 11 miles
  • Hawley, MA350 people, 14 miles
  • Windsor, MA817 people, 14 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.