Berkshire County, Massachusetts Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Berkshire County, MA Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
-
A
Health Above averageAmong the 5 least healthy counties in Massachusetts
-
B
Income Around averageAmong the 5 least wealthy counties in Massachusetts
-
B
Education Around averageAmong the 3 least educated counties in Massachusetts
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Berkshire County | Massachusetts Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 129,358 | 7,031,620 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 136.7 | 666.0 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 0.09% | 0.53% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 48.3 | 39.0 | 37.3 |
| Households | 57,551 | 2,777,931 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Berkshire County grew by 2.6% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 129,358 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Berkshire County is Boomers, aged 61–79, at 23.4% of residents. That is 6.1 points above Massachusetts as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 24,548 19.0% -2.6 pts
- Millennials 29–44 23,561 18.2% -3.7 pts
- Gen X 45–60 28,705 22.2% +1.1 pts
- Boomers 61–79 30,303 23.4% +6.1 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Massachusetts, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 51.3% of the people living in Berkshire County and men 48.7%.
- Women 51.3% Massachusetts 51.2%
- Men 48.7% Massachusetts 48.8%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Berkshire County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Berkshire County has a the economy index of B, which means it is quite prosperous.
| Metric | Berkshire County | Massachusetts Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $76,040 | $104,336 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 4.71% | 4.91% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 5.4% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Berkshire County is about 27% lower than in Massachusetts.
Housing
| Metric | Berkshire County | Massachusetts Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $337,519 | $494,523 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $1,096 | $1,761 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 69.9% | 62.5% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Berkshire County is about 25.7 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $1,096 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Berkshire County spend about 34 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 140 hours, about 5.8 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Berkshire County | Massachusetts Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 16.8 | 25.6 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 33.6 | 51.1 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 140 | 213 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $4,334 | $6,603 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 14.2% | 18.6% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 5,320 | 14,741 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 473 | 2,164 | 1,355 |
Fastest commutes among counties in
Massachusetts:
Nantucket County (12.8 min), Dukes County (15.4 min), Berkshire County (16.8 min).
Slowest:
Norfolk County (31.0 min), Suffolk County (30.4 min), Middlesex County (28.4 min).
The average commute time in Berkshire County is 17 minutes, shorter than the 26 minutes in Massachusetts.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Berkshire County has a education index of B, which means it is quite educated.
| Metric | Berkshire County | Massachusetts Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 35.0% | 42.7% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.14 | 2.44 | 2.53 |
Highest education index among counties in
Massachusetts:
Middlesex County (0.5), Norfolk County (0.4), Nantucket County (0.4).
Lowest:
Hampden County (0.3), Bristol County (0.3), Berkshire County (0.3).
Health
Berkshire County has a health index of A, which means it is very healthy.
| Metric | Berkshire County | Massachusetts Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 80.3 | 80.5 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 12.9% | 11.8% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 15.1% | 13.9% | 19.0% |
Highest health index among counties in
Massachusetts:
Middlesex County (0.8), Hampshire County (0.8), Norfolk County (0.8).
Lowest:
Hampden County (0.8), Bristol County (0.8), Worcester County (0.8).
Berkshire County, MA Compared With Nearby Counties
Berkshire County, MA is the 4th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 129,358 residents against a local median of 160,332. Where Berkshire County, MA breaks from the counties next to it is commute, sitting 23% below the local median of 21.7 min at 16.8 min. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.
Median home price tells the same story from another angle: $337,519 against a local median of $292,288, 15% above it. The counties themselves sit within 1.5 min of each other on commute, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Berkshire County, MA, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Berkshire County, MA has the lowest commute of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkshire County, MA | 129,358 | $76,040 #5/6 | $337,519 #2/6 | 16.8 min #1/6 |
| Columbia County, NY | 61,100 | $82,826 | $292,288 | 21.7 min |
| Rensselaer County, NY | 160,332 | $87,745 | $181,589 | 21.8 min |
| Northwest Hills Planning Region, CT | 104,183 | $95,230 | $304,911 | 21.9 min |
| Hampshire County, MA | 161,946 | $87,740 | $415,384 | 21.3 min |
| Hampden County, MA | 462,481 | $71,193 | $229,767 | 20.5 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Berkshire County, Massachusetts.
What is the population of Berkshire County, Massachusetts?
About 129,358 people live in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, in 57,551 households of 2.1 people on average. The median age is 48.3, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 11 years.
How densely populated is Berkshire County, Massachusetts?
Averaged over its land area, Berkshire County, Massachusetts has 137 people per square mile, a density typical of a mix of suburbs, small towns and farmland. That is about 1.6 times the U.S. average of 86.
How affordable is housing in Berkshire County, Massachusetts?
The median home costs 4.4 times the median household income ($337,519 against $76,040), compared with 3.1 times nationally. A ratio of about 3 is traditionally considered affordable. Median rent of $1,096 a month takes about 17% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
Analyze any area in the US
Get local demographics for any address, aggregated by drive time or radius, on the interactive map.
Explore the map →