The 10 Poorest Cities In Massachusetts For 2024


The poorest places in Massachusetts are Holyoke and Springfield for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Like all states, Massachusetts has certain places that are going on hard times. These Massachusetts places have an above-average percentage of people living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.

Even as the economy continues to improve, it’s worthwhile to look at the places in each state struggling to make ends meet. So we set our sites on locating the poorest places in Massachusetts.

To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 52 cities in Massachusetts with more than 12,000 people.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


Poorest Places In Massachusetts Map

What’s the poorest city in Massachusetts? According to the facts, Holyoke is the poorest place in Massachusetts for 2024.

This isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.

For more Massachusetts reading, check out:

The 10 Poorest Cities In Massachusetts For 2024

1. Holyoke

Holyoke, MA

Source: Wikipedia User John Phelan | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 38,210
Rank Last Year: 2 (Up 1)
Median Income: $49,007 (2nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 26.0% (highest)
People In Poverty: 9,938
More on Holyoke: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Holyoke, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Massachusetts thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.

The city of 38,210 people averages the 2nd lowest median household income in Massachusetts and the highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.

2. Springfield

Springfield, MA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 155,305
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 1)
Median Income: $47,677 (lowest)
Poverty Rate: 25.3% (2nd highest)
People In Poverty: 39,323
More on Springfield: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

The second poorest city in Massachusetts is Springfield.

The city ranks as having the 2nd highest incidence of poverty and lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 4th highest in the Bay State.

3. Fall River

Fall River, MA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 93,638
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 2)
Median Income: $52,734 (4th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 19.7% (4th highest)
People In Poverty: 18,456
More on Fall River: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Placing as the third poorest city, Fall River’s median income ranks as the 4th lowest.

And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 19.71% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.

But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Bay State.

4. Lawrence

Lawrence, MA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 88,067
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Median Income: $53,977 (5th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 19.4% (6th highest)
People In Poverty: 17,102
More on Lawrence: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Lawrence ranks as the fourth poorest place in Massachusetts.

The town ranks as having the 5th lowest median household income and the 6th highest incidence of poverty in the state.

That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.

5. New Bedford

New Bedford, MA

Source: Wikipedia User PenitentWhaler | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 100,620
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 1)
Median Income: $54,604 (6th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 18.8% (7th highest)
People In Poverty: 18,876
More on New Bedford: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

The fifth poorest city in Massachusetts is New Bedford.

The city ranks as having the 6th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 7th highest in Massachusetts.

Still not the best news for New Bedford.

6. Worcester

Worcester, MA

Source: Wikipedia User Terageorge | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 204,191
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 1)
Median Income: $63,011 (9th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 19.5% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 39,735
More on Worcester: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Worcester ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Bay State.

It ranks as having the 5th highest incidence of poverty and the 15th highest unemployment rate.

7. North Adams

North Adams, MA

Source: Wikipedia User Beyond My Ken | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 12,937
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 1)
Median Income: $49,525 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 15.1% (12th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,952
More on North Adams: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

North Adams places as the seventh poorest city in Massachusetts.

The city of over 12,937 ranks as having the 12th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.

8. Southbridge Town

Southbridge Town, MA

Source: Wikipedia User John Phelan | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 17,669
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 4)
Median Income: $55,182 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 17.9% (8th highest)
People In Poverty: 3,169
More on Southbridge Town: Data | Cost Of Living

Southbridge Town ranks as the eighth poorest city in Massachusetts.

The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as one of the highest in the state.

9. Chelsea

Chelsea, MA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 39,890
Rank Last Year: 9 (No Change)
Median Income: $71,051 (16th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 21.4% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 8,536
More on Chelsea: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Chelsea couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Massachusetts; it ranks number 9.

While the median income is the 16th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Chelsea ranks as having the 3rd most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Massachusetts.

10. Gardner

Gardner, MA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 21,090
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 1)
Median Income: $56,974 (8th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 14.8% (13th highest)
People In Poverty: 3,129
More on Gardner: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Massachusetts is Gardner.

The city of 21,090 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Bay State.

Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In Massachusetts for 2024

The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.

However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “poorest places”. So we used Saturday Night Science to look at this set of criteria from the newly released 2018-2022 American Community Survey:

  • Poverty Level
  • Median Household Income

After we collected the data for all 52 places with more than 12,000 people in Massachusetts, we ranked each place from 1 to 52 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.

We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Poor Score” with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Holyoke, crowned the “Poorest Place In Massachusetts For 2024”.

This report has been updated for 2024, which is our tenth time ranking the poorest places in Massachusetts.

Summary: The Poorest Cities In Massachusetts For 2024

Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Massachusetts, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Massachusetts.

When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.

If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in Massachusetts, according to data:

    Richest: Newton
    2nd Richest: Melrose
    3rd Richest: Franklin Town

For more Massachusetts reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Massachusetts

Rank City Population Poverty Rate Median Income People In Poverty
1 Holyoke 38,210 26.0% $49,007 9,938
2 Springfield 155,305 25.3% $47,677 39,323
3 Fall River 93,638 19.7% $52,734 18,456
4 Lawrence 88,067 19.4% $53,977 17,102
5 New Bedford 100,620 18.8% $54,604 18,876
6 Worcester 204,191 19.5% $63,011 39,735
7 North Adams 12,937 15.1% $49,525 1,952
8 Southbridge Town 17,669 17.9% $55,182 3,169
9 Chelsea 39,890 21.4% $71,051 8,536
10 Gardner 21,090 14.8% $56,974 3,129
11 Chicopee 55,441 15.4% $63,866 8,565
12 Fitchburg 41,621 13.9% $65,963 5,789
13 Lowell 114,737 16.6% $73,008 19,069
14 Pittsfield 43,730 13.8% $66,859 6,012
15 Lynn 100,653 14.1% $70,046 14,171
16 Everett 48,685 14.4% $77,796 7,005
17 Taunton 59,436 12.7% $72,782 7,560
18 Boston 665,945 17.5% $89,212 116,340
19 Brockton 104,713 12.9% $74,016 13,476
20 West Springfield Town 28,755 10.5% $67,297 3,030
21 Salem 44,541 13.7% $79,196 6,111
22 Easthampton Town 16,136 9.3% $67,329 1,500
23 Revere 60,577 12.3% $78,968 7,426
24 Malden 65,463 13.5% $90,295 8,850
25 Northampton 28,245 11.3% $80,981 3,188
26 Leominster 43,620 9.1% $75,620 3,969
27 Haverhill 67,273 10.6% $81,989 7,130
28 Gloucester 29,830 10.8% $84,465 3,236
29 Quincy 100,981 11.2% $90,668 11,279
30 Palmer Town 12,422 8.2% $73,568 1,019
31 Westfield 40,794 8.8% $78,307 3,610
32 Attleboro 46,384 9.2% $91,378 4,253
33 Methuen Town 52,812 8.9% $93,681 4,716
34 Beverly 42,414 10.5% $99,525 4,466
35 Cambridge 117,962 12.1% $121,539 14,320
36 Agawam Town 28,606 6.5% $80,809 1,862
37 Amesbury Town 17,279 8.2% $91,010 1,411
38 Marlborough 41,391 8.8% $94,199 3,646
39 Peabody 54,204 7.0% $91,125 3,778
40 Somerville 80,464 10.2% $120,778 8,183
41 Waltham 64,711 8.9% $113,443 5,746
42 Winthrop Town 19,031 8.2% $98,901 1,558
43 Barnstable Town 48,922 6.9% $94,387 3,360
44 Medford 61,748 7.4% $114,863 4,581
45 Woburn 40,992 6.5% $104,780 2,680
46 Weymouth Town 57,300 6.3% $95,879 3,586
47 Watertown Town 35,181 6.5% $117,625 2,276
48 Braintree Town 38,748 5.1% $120,593 1,968
49 Newburyport 18,356 5.8% $127,306 1,073
50 Franklin Town 32,777 4.6% $138,062 1,507
51 Melrose 29,477 4.0% $126,305 1,187
52 Newton 88,453 4.6% $176,373 4,042
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

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