Hampshire County, Massachusetts Information & Hampshire County, Massachusetts Links at HealthHaven.com

Hampshire County
	Hampshire County, Massachusetts
	Map
	; Location in the state of Massachusetts
	; Massachusetts's location in the U.S.
	Statistics
Founded	1662
Seat	None (formerly Northampton); County government was abolished in 1999
Largest city	Amherst
Area; - Total; - Land; - Water	; 545 sq mi (1,413 km²); 529 sq mi (1,370 km²); 16 sq mi (42 km²), 3.01%
Population; - (2000); - Density	; 152,251; 288/sq mi (111/km²)
	Website: www.pvpc.org

Hampshire County is a non-governmental county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of 2000, the population was 152,251. Its largest municipality is Amherst, and its county seat is Northampton.^[1]^{[page needed]}

Hampshire County is part of the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area.

[edit] Law and government

Hampshire County was formed in 1662 out of Middlesex County, an original county of the Massachusetts Bay Colony which organized counties in 1643. Like a number of Massachusetts counties, Hampshire County exists today only as a historical geographic region and a judicial district and has no county government. All former county functions were assumed by state agencies in 1999. The sheriff and some other regional officials with specific duties are still elected locally to perform duties within the county region, yet there is no county council or commissioner. However, communities are now granted the right to form their own regional compacts for sharing services. Hampshire County and Hampden County are part of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 545 square miles (1,413 km²), of which, 529 square miles (1,370 km²) of it is land and 16 square miles (42 km²) of it (3.01%) is water.

Hampshire County is the middle section of the Pioneer Valley.

[edit] Adjacent counties

Hampshire County is the only county in Massachusetts surrounded in all directions by other counties of Massachusetts: all other counties in the state are adjacent to at least one other state or the open ocean.

[edit] Demographics

Age distribution (2000 census)

Population (2000-2008)^[2]^[3]

Median income (2000 census)

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1900	58,820	—
1910	63,327	7.7%
1920	69,599	9.9%
1930	72,801	4.6%
1940	72,461	−0.5%
1950	87,594	20.9%
1960	103,229	17.8%
1970	123,981	20.1%
1980	138,813	12.0%
1990	146,568	5.6%
2000	152,251	3.9%
Est. 2008	154,983	1.8%

As of the census^[4]^{[page needed]} of 2000, there were 152,251 people, 55,991 households, and 33,818 families residing in the county. The population density was 288 people per square mile (111/km²). There were 58,644 housing units at an average density of 111 per square mile (43/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.10% White, 1.96% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 3.40% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.50% from other races, and 1.80% from two or more races. 3.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 14.7% were of Irish, 12.8% Polish, 9.6% English, 9.5% French, 8.5% French Canadian, 6.9% Italian and 6.4% German ancestry according to Census 2000. 88.8% spoke English, 3.4% Spanish, 1.7% French and 1.4% Polish as their first language.

There were 55,991 households out of which 28.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.40% were married couples living together, 9.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.60% were non-families. 28.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the county the population was spread out with 19.60% under the age of 18, 19.30% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 22.20% from 45 to 64, and 12.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 87.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $46,098, and the median income for a family was $57,480. Males had a median income of $39,327 versus $30,362 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,685. About 5.10% of families and 9.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.20% of those under age 18 and 6.70% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Cities, towns, and villages*

Amherst
- Amherst Center (a village of Amherst)
- Cushman (a village of Amherst)
- North Amherst (a village of Amherst)
- South Amherst (a village of Amherst)
Belchertown
Chesterfield
Cummington
Easthampton
Enfield (disincorporated for the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir)
Goshen
Granby
Greenwich (disincorporated for the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir)
Hadley
Hatfield
Huntington (Formerly named Norwich)
Middlefield
Northampton
- Leeds (a village of Northampton)
- Florence (a village of Northampton)
Pelham
Plainfield
Prescott (disincorporated for the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir)
South Hadley
- South Hadley Falls (a section of southern South Hadley)
Southampton
Ware
Westhampton
Williamsburg
- Haydenville (a village of Williamsburg)
Worthington

* Villages are census division, but have no separate corporate existence from the towns they are in.

[edit] The Five Colleges

Hampshire County is notable for the presence within its borders of the "Five Colleges," comprising the University of Massachusetts flagship campus and four well-known private colleges: