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Shutesbury, Massachusetts

Shutesbury is a small town of about 1,700 people in Franklin County, Massachusetts. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 3 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 50 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,705
down 0.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$376,100
Franklin County prices up 27% since 2022
Household income
$123,333
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Massachusetts
98.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
13 miles
Greenfield, MA
To Hartford
50 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 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: 0 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Amherst Regional High, about 7 miles away.
  • A hospital close byBaystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield, about 13 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityHartford is about 50 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 Shutesbury 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
$376,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 27%Franklin County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,721 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$123,333U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
91%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$6,642 a yearMassachusetts: $5,992
Homes built before 1940
9%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
9%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 Shutesbury 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
1,7052020: 1,720
Median age
50.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
25%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
14%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
70%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%share of all residents

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 (46%); professional and business services (14%); retail (9%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
33 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
27%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
3%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 13 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

1 public school in Shutesbury, run by Shutesbury. The nearest public high school is Amherst Regional High, about 7 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
91%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
98%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
83°F
Days 90°F or hotter
18 a year
Nights at or below freezing
153 a year
Rain and melted snow
49.3 inches a year
Snow
46 inches a year
Elevation
1,116 feet

Weather stations: Leverett #2 (6 miles away) and Sunderland (7 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Springfield Armory National Historic Site25 miles
  • New England National Scenic Trail30 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail37 miles
  • Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park45 miles
  • Minute Man National Historical Park53 miles

Read about Shutesbury's history on Wikipedia.

Know Shutesbury?

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

  • Wendell, MA911 people, 7 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.