The 10 Poorest Cities In Massachusetts For 2024

The 10 Poorest Cities In Massachusetts For 2024

1. Holyoke

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

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

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 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

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 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 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 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 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

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.