More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Springfield to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Springfield are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Springfield ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Springfield area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Springfield proper, although Westfield certainly tries.
We examined the 5 biggest suburbs of Springfield to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Massachusetts lists, these ten places are a little too far downwind of Springfield in terms of quality of life.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 5 worst suburbs around Springfield for 2023
Now don’t freak out.
What’s the worst suburb of Springfield? Hartford ranks as the worst suburb of Springfield for 2023 based on the most recent Census and FBI data.
Or, if you’re thinking of moving to elsewhere in Massachusetts check out the best places in Massachusetts overall or the worst.
And remember, there are some good places to live around Springfield too.
The 5 Worst Springfield Suburbs To Live For 2023
/10
Population: 121,562
Median Income: $37,477 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 11.5% (highest)
Median Home Value: $172,100 (lowest)
More on Hartford: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
We’ll get the ball rolling with Hartford, the absolute worst place to live around Springfield according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Hartford beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the worst in the Springfield area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks worst when it comes to home values.
But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Hartford.
You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.
/10
Population: 38,480
Median Income: $45,045 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.2% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $209,900 (3rd lowest)
More on Holyoke: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Welcome to Holyoke. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 8.5 miles to Springfield. Income levels here are the 2nd lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $45,045 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.
But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.
/10
Population: 55,636
Median Income: $56,509 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.5% (3rd highest)
Median Home Value: $198,000 (2nd lowest)
More on Chicopee: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Springfield suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Chicopee on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.
In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other Springfield suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
/10
Population: 29,379
Median Income: $72,687 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.8% (4th highest)
Median Home Value: $341,600 (5th lowest)
More on Northampton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
If you live in Northampton, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 4th lowest Springfield suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 4th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Springfield. Remember, we looked at 5 cities for this study.
Northampton is about 16.2 miles to downtown.
/10
Population: 40,922
Median Income: $73,692 (5th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.8% (5th highest)
Median Home Value: $256,300 (4th lowest)
More on Westfield: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Westfield has the distinction of being a Springfield suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Westfield has the 4th lowest home values in the metro Springfield area, where the median price is $256,300. The median income is $73,692.
Westfield has an unemployment rate of 4.78% which ranks 5th worst.
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Springfield for 2023
To figure out how bad a Springfield suburb is to live in, we only needed to know what kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
It’s Saturday Night Science.
We threw a lot of criteria at this one to get the best, most complete results possible. Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2017-2021, this is the criteria we used:
- High unemployment rate
- Low median household incomes
- Low population density (no things to do)
- Low home values
- A lot of high school dropouts
- High poverty
- High rate of uninsured families
We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Springfield.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 29,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 5 suburbs to evaluate around Springfield.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 5 in each category, where 1 was the “worst.”
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near Springfield.” We’re looking at you, Hartford.
We updated this article for 2023, which reflects our tenth time ranking the worst suburbs around Springfield.
Summary: The areas around Springfield where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2023
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Springfield with Hartford casting itself ahead of the pack.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Springfield aren’t all bad. Westfield takes the cake as the best place to live around Springfield.
- Westfield
- Northampton
- Chicopee
For more Massachusetts reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Massachusetts
- Cheapest Places To Live In Massachusetts
- Most Dangerous Cities In Massachusetts
- Best Places To Retire In Massachusetts
- Richest Cities In Massachusetts
- Safest Places In Massachusetts
- Worst Places To Live In Massachusetts
Detailed List Of The Worst Springfield Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hartford | 121,562 | $37,477 | $172,100 |
| 2 | Holyoke | 38,480 | $45,045 | $209,900 |
| 3 | Chicopee | 55,636 | $56,509 | $198,000 |
| 4 | Northampton | 29,379 | $72,687 | $341,600 |
| 5 | Westfield | 40,922 | $73,692 | $256,300 |
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