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Demographics
A Portrait of Amherst
Amherst does not look like the average Massachusetts town, because tens of thousands of college students live here for most of the year. That is why the median resident is barely out of their teens, why the official median household income looks low for a town with these home prices, and why a quarter of residents are counted as below the poverty line: many of them are students. Figures below are from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Follow the source links for the latest.
Population & Households
- Population (2020 Census): 39,263
- Households: 9,039
- Persons per household: 2.2
- Foreign-born: 15.8%
- Under 18: 8.7%
- Age 65 and over: 9.9%
Race & Ethnicity
- White: 67.9%
- Asian: 13.8%
- Black or African American: 4.7%
- Hispanic or Latino (any race): 8.9%
- Two or more races: 11.3%
- Speak a language other than English at home: 22.0%
Economy & Housing
- Median household income: $65,938
- Poverty rate: 24.1%
- Median home value: $454,000
- Median gross rent: $1,570
- Homeownership: 45.9% of units
- In the labor force: 52.9%
Registered Voters
Massachusetts publishes voter-registration counts by town through the Secretary of the Commonwealth. As in most of the state, Amherst’s largest bloc is voters who choose no party at all, and Democrats far outnumber Republicans.
- Total registered: 13,537
- Unenrolled (no party): 6,783
- Democrats: 6,274
- Republicans: 363
Sources
See how Amherst fits into the broader Commonwealth.