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Russell, Massachusetts

Russell is a small town of about 1,600 people in Hampden County, Massachusetts. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.8 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 29 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,637
down 0.1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$303,300
Hampden County prices up 20% since 2022
Household income
$108,750
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Springfield area
96.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
6 miles
Westfield, MA
To Hartford
29 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 3.9% below the U.S. average in the Springfield metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood1 violent crime was reported in 2025, about 0.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 1.2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Westfield High, about 5 miles away.
  • A hospital close byBaystate Noble Hospital in Westfield, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityHartford is about 29 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 Russell 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
$303,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 20%Hampden County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,013 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$108,750U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
85%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$5,104 a yearMassachusetts: $5,992
Homes built before 1940
34%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
96.1U.S. average = 100 (the Springfield 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 20% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Springfield metro area, not Russell 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
1,6372020: 1,638
Median age
47.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
10%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
30%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
1%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 (26%); manufacturing (20%); construction (19%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
30 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
9%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: Baystate Noble Hospital, Westfield, MA, about 6 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

There are no public schools inside Russell itself. The nearest public high school is Westfield High, about 5 miles away.

Colleges in or next to town: Westfield State University (1,000 to 4,999 students).

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 any internet subscription
92%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
16°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
14 a year
Nights at or below freezing
143 a year
Rain and melted snow
51.1 inches a year
Snow
51 inches a year
Elevation
777 feet

Weather stations: Westfield 3 SW (5 miles away) and Barkhamsted (18 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 Noble Hospital, Chicopee, Hartford.

Hampden County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Russell Center Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • New England National Scenic Trail9 miles
  • Springfield Armory National Historic Site14 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail17 miles
  • Martin Van Buren National Historic Site45 miles
  • Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site60 miles

Campus life. Check Westfield State University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Russell's history on Wikipedia.

Know Russell?

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

  • Montgomery, MA838 people, 4 miles
  • Tolland, MA476 people, 10 miles
  • Sandisfield, MA983 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.