Hampshire County, Massachusetts Eviction Risk: Elevated

Hampshire County carries an average eviction-risk score of 5.9/10 (Elevated) across its 8 cities, placing it at rank 12 of 14 Massachusetts counties, meaning only 2 counties in the state are less risky for landlords. Eleven Massachusetts eviction laws counties score higher, so investors looking at the western part of the state will find conditions here toward the more manageable end of the spectrum, though the 35.6% average rent burden and a 46.4% renter share signal a tenant population that is genuinely strained rather than comfortably housed.

The county's intra-county range tells the more useful story: scores run from 4.5/10 at the low end to 6.6/10 at the high end, a 2.1-point spread that dwarfs what the county average alone implies. Operators who treat Hampshire County as a uniform market will mismatch their underwriting; those who work at the city level will find meaningfully different operating realities within the same county borders.

The cities inside Hampshire County

The highest-risk address in the county is Ware at 6.2/10, a small city of 6,369 residents where a poverty rate that feeds persistent delinquency risk makes eviction proceedings more probable than the county average suggests. Huntington follows at 5.6/10, and Northampton, the county's second-largest city with a population of 30,962, registers 5.8/10, reflecting its dense rental market and activist tenant culture. These three cities alone account for the upper bound of risk in the county.

On the other side of the ledger, Hatfield, the county's most populous city at 38,182 residents, scores the lowest at 5.5/10. Hatfield and Granby both score 5.5/10, making the rural and college-anchored corridors of the county notably friendlier than the more economically distressed small cities. Easthampton (5.8/10) and Belchertown (5.6/10) cluster near the county average. The takeaway is that risk in Hampshire County is hyper-local: a landlord operating in Amherst Town eviction risk faces conditions nearly 2 full points better than a landlord two towns away in Ware.

State-level laws that apply here

Every property in Hampshire County operates under Massachusetts state law, primarily M.G.L. c. 186 (Estates for Years and at Will). Notice requirements vary by circumstance: nonpayment of rent triggers a 14-day notice under both M.G.L. c. 186 § 11 (tenancy at will) and § 11A (fixed-term lease); a material lease violation requires only a 7-day notice under M.G.L. c. 186 § 12; and a no-cause termination of a tenancy at will requires 30 days under the same section. Massachusetts does not impose just-cause eviction requirements statewide and does not preempt local rent control, so landlords should verify whether any local ordinance applies, particularly in cities like Northampton eviction risk. Understanding the full Massachusetts eviction process is essential before initiating any action, because an uncontested case typically takes 30 to 60 days, while a contested matter routinely runs 90 to 180 days.

Cost exposure is real: court filing fees run $195 to $295, sheriff lockout fees add another $75 to $200, and attorney fees typically range from $750 to $3,500. Source of income is a protected class under Massachusetts fair housing law (enforced by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination), so screening practices must account for that. Landlords should also review Massachusetts eviction costs and Massachusetts tenant protections in full before setting policy at the lease level.

With an average poverty rate of 15% and nearly half of all residents renting, Hampshire County's risk profile varies sharply by city; review the full city grid above to match your target market to the score tier that fits your underwriting criteria.