Selected Housing Characteristics: American Community Survey
Berkshire County is 931 square miles in the western most part of Massachusetts and represents a population of over 125,000 residents. It takes approximately 2 1/2 hours to drive from the north of our territory to the south and approximately 40 minutes to 1 hour to drive from east to west in Berkshire County. (depending on road conditions)
Our county covers the complete and total western end of Massachusetts, bordering Vermont to the North, New York to the West and Connecticut to the South.
Of our population of 125.654 in Berkshire County, 52% are female and 48% male and the median age of the residents is 43 years old.
65,928 residents are employed within the county and there is an 8% unemployment rate.
How we live
A beautiful, culturally rich place to live and work, the Berkshire's housing and population estimates speak to our rural way of life. Berkshire County boasts a 66.9% home ownership rate, with residents of our county owning their own home at a greater rate than the rest of Massachusetts. The median value of a home, as assessed by the local town tax collectors is $116,800.
Berkshire county has 67,450 housing units and the primary type is a single family detached home, as are well over 64% of the residential buildings in the county. Massachusetts being an old community has historic properties and the greatest majority of our housing stock was built before 1939. This provides a unique opportunity to purchase many different types of home styles throughout the region.
While some areas are known for their historic Victorians, others feature farmhouses galore! [see town information more more details] Capes, ranches, modern and contemporary homes, colonials, revivals and tudors are just a few of the other types of homes you'll find in the Berkshires.
HOUSE HEATING FUEL
# homes using this form of fuel
Utility gas
19,492
Bottled, tank, or LP gas
3,427
Electricity
4,641
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.
24,562
Coal or coke
221
Wood
1,815
Solar energy
0
Other fuel
422
Currently, 23,872 homeowners in Berkshire County have a mortgage and the average monthly payment is $1,191. Most residents pay less than 20% of their income for housing costs, and unlike others parts of the country, fuel costs have a direct impact on home ownership costs.
HOUSING OCCUPANCY
Total housing units
67,450
Occupied housing units
54,580
Vacant housing units
12,870
Homeowner vacancy rate
1.3
Rental vacancy rate
5.8
UNITS IN STRUCTURE
1-unit, detached
42,857
1-unit, attached
1,726
2 units
6,402
3 or 4 units
7,578
5 to 9 units
2,773
10 to 19 units
2,098
20 or more units
2,780
Mobile home
1,236
Boat, RV, van, etc.
0
YEAR STRUCTURE BUILT
Built 2005 or later
75
Built 2000 to 2004
1,270
Built 1990 to 1999
3,654
Built 1980 to 1989
7,672
Built 1970 to 1979
7,319
Built 1960 to 1969
5,534
Built 1950 to 1959
8,409
Built 1940 to 1949
4,985
Built 1939 or earlier
28,532
ROOMS
1 room
777
2 rooms
1,126
3 rooms
6,377
4 rooms
10,031
5 rooms
12,180
6 rooms
15,026
7 rooms
9,479
8 rooms
5,567
9 rooms or more
6,887
Median (rooms)
5.7
BEDROOMS
No bedroom
850
1 bedroom
8,957
2 bedrooms
19,397
3 bedrooms
24,860
4 bedrooms
10,092
5 or more bedrooms
3,294
Occupied housing units
54,580
HOUSING TENURE
Owner-occupied
37,652
Renter-occupied
16,928
Average household size of owner-occupied unit
2.51
Average household size of renter-occupied unit
1.84
YEAR HOUSEHOLDER MOVED INTO UNIT
Moved in 2000 or later
21,829
Moved in 1995 to 1999
8,206
Moved in 1990 to 1994
6,177
Moved in 1980 to 1989
6,771
Moved in 1970 to 1979
4,842
Moved in 1969 or earlier
6,755
VEHICLES AVAILABLE
No vehicles available
5,060
1 vehicle available
20,546
2 vehicles available
20,863
3 or more vehicles available
8,111
HOUSE HEATING FUEL
Utility gas
19,492
Bottled, tank, or LP gas
3,427
Electricity
4,641
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.
24,562
Coal or coke
221
Wood
1,815
Solar energy
0
Other fuel
422
No fuel used
0
SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS
Lacking complete plumbing facilities
78
Lacking complete kitchen facilities
180
No telephone service available
912
OCCUPANTS PER ROOM
1.00 or less
N
1.01 to 1.50
N
1.51 or more
N
Owner-occupied units
37,652
VALUE
Less than $50,000
1,572
$50,000 to $99,999
4,715
$100,000 to $149,999
9,127
$150,000 to $199,999
7,164
$200,000 to $299,999
7,488
$300,000 to $499,999
4,581
$500,000 to $999,999
2,547
$1,000,000 or more
458
Median (dollars)
170,700
MORTGAGE STATUS AND SELECTED MONTHLY OWNER COSTS
Housing units with a mortgage
23,872
Less than $300
0
$300 to $499
619
$500 to $699
1,644
$700 to $999
6,213
$1,000 to $1,499
8,240
$1,500 to $1,999
4,325
$2,000 or more
2,831
Median (dollars)
1,191
Housing units without a mortgage
13,780
Less than $100
204
$100 to $199
220
$200 to $299
1,429
$300 to $399
3,365
$400 or more
8,562
Median (dollars)
452
SELECTED MONTHLY OWNER COSTS AS A PERCENTAGE OF HOUSEHOLD INCOME
While there is a diverse employment base, the largest segment of the Berkshire workforce is employed in the educational, health care and social services fields. While many think of tourism as our primary industry, the hospitals, colleges, technical schools and professional management services abound with far greater employment opportunity.
OCCUPATION
# of Residents
Management, professional, and related occupations
23,930
Service occupations
10,099
Sales and office occupations
13,980
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations
0
Construction, extraction, maintenance and repair occupations
6,579
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations
6,068
Employed population 16 years and over
60,656
The average pay is $38,586. with the largest percentage of the workforce earning between $50,000 to $74,999.
The employment landscape consists of 12,898 firms located in the county and Berkshire works boast an average commute time to work of under 20 minutes. Most workers (80%0 drive alone to work, while 10% carpool. Over 2,700 Berkshire residents work from home (5%) and 4% are close enough to walk to work or 2% use public transportation.
Berkshire County Employment Professions
NOTE. Data are limited to the household population and exclude the population living in institutions, college dormitories, and other group quarters. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see Survey Methodology.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2005 American Community Survey
Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. The degree of uncertainty for an estimate arising from sampling variability is represented through the use of a margin of error. The value shown here is the 90 percent margin of error. The margin of error can be interpreted roughly as providing a 90 percent probability that the interval defined by the estimate minus the margin of error and the estimate plus the margin of error (the lower and upper confidence bounds) contains the true value. In addition to sampling variability, the ACS estimates are subject to nonsampling error (for a discussion of nonsampling variability, see Accuracy of the Data). The effect of nonsampling error is not represented in these tables.
Notes: ·The median gross rent excludes no cash renters.
Berkshire County Board of Realtors® -
99 West Street, Suite 200 Pittsfield, MA 01201-5845 413-442-8049 Sandra
J. Carroll, Chief Executive Officer - Sue
O'Brien, Member Services Admin - Molly MacGregor, Office Clerk
