Hampden County is a non-governmental county located in the Pioneer Valley of the U.S. state of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, Hampden County's population was 465,825. Its traditional county seat is Springfield, the Connecticut River Valley's largest city, and economic and cultural capital; with an estimated population of 154,758, approximately one-third of Hampden County residents live in Springfield.

History Springfield had been Hampshire County's traditional shire town since its founding in 1636, then in 1794 Northampton was made Hampshire County's shire town.Hampden County Incorporated in 1812. Posted October 2, 2018, by Hampden County Registry of Deeds. Accessed August 5, 2023. Springfield grew at a pace far quicker than Northampton, so was granted shire town-status over its own southerly jurisdiction. The southern division of Hampshire County was separated as Hampden County on August 1, 1812, by a prior act of the Massachusetts General Court on February 25, 1812, with Springfield named as the shire town.An Act for dividing the county of Hampshire, and erecting and forming the southerly part thereof into a separate county, by the name of Hampden. Passed February 25, 1812, Effective from and after August 1, 1812. Chapter CXXXVII. Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, passed at the Several Sessions of the General Court Holden in Boston. Beginning May 31, 1809, and Ending on February 29, 1812. Vol. V. Publisher: Adams, Rhoades & Co., Boston, 1812. Accessed April 7, 2024.01 AUG 1812 HAMPDEN created from HAMPSHIRE. (Mass. Acts 1812, ch. 137/p. 291) HAMPDEN. Massachusetts : Individual County Chronologies. Massachusetts Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library, 2009. Accessed April 7, 2024. The agreement of settlement (regarding assets, liabilities, income and expenses) made between Hampden and Hampshire counties in November 1812 can be found in the Court of Sessions Record Book 1, pages 5–6 of the Hampden County Commissioners' Archives, housed in the Registry of Deeds. Hampden County was named for parliamentarian John Hampden, and is the youngest county by establishment date in the state.

To the north of Hampden County is modern-day Hampshire County; to the west is Berkshire County; to the east is Worcester County; to the south are Litchfield County, Hartford County, and Tolland County in Connecticut. Hampden County is part of the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the most urban county in Western Massachusetts. The Knowledge Corridor surrounding Springfield-Hartford is New England's second most populous urban area (after Greater Boston) with 1.9 million people.

Law and government As with most Massachusetts counties, Hampden County exists today only as a historical geographic region, and has no county government. All former county functions were assumed by state agencies in 1998. The sheriff and some other regional officials with specific duties are still elected locally to perform duties within the county borders, but there is no county council, county commission or other county governing body. Communities are now granted the right to form their own regional compacts for sharing services. Hampden County and Hampshire County together are part of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.

Government and politics

Voter registration and party enrollment as of February 2024 Unenrolled Democratic Republican Libertarian Other parties Total

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.7%) is water.

Adjacent counties Hampshire County (north) Worcester County (east) Tolland County, Connecticut (southeast) Hartford County, Connecticut (south) Litchfield County, Connecticut (southwest) Berkshire County (west)

Communities

Cities Agawam Chicopee Holyoke Palmer Springfield (traditional county seat) West Springfield Westfield

Towns

Blandford Brimfield Chester East Longmeadow Granville Hampden Holland Longmeadow Ludlow Monson Montgomery Russell Southwick Tolland Wales Wilbraham

Census-designated places Blandford Chester Holland Monson Center Russell Wilbraham

Other unincorporated communities

Bondsville Depot Village Feeding Hills Three Rivers Woronoco

City neighborhoods The following are neighborhoods located in Springfield or West Springfield.

Bay Boston Road Brightwood East Forest Park East Springfield Forest Park Indian Orchard Liberty Heights McKnight Memorial Square Merrick Metro Center Old Hill Pine Point Six Corners and Maple Heights Sixteen Acres South End Upper Hill

The following are neighborhoods located in Chicopee.

Aldenville Burnett Road Chicopee Center (Cabotville) Chicopee Falls Fairview Smith Highlands Westover Willimansett

The following are neighborhoods located in Holyoke.

Churchill Downtown Elmwood The Flats Highlands Highland Park Homestead Avenue Ingleside Jarvis Avenue Oakdale Rock Valley Smith's Ferry South Holyoke Springdale Whiting Farms

National Parks Springfield Armory National Historic Site

State parks

Brimfield State Forest Chester-Blandford State Forest Chicopee Memorial State Park Connecticut River Greenway State Park Hampton Ponds State Park Holyoke Heritage State Park Lake Lorraine State Park (CLOSED) Mount Tom State Reservation Tolland State Forest

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 465,825. Of the residents, 21.1% were under the age of 18 and 18.2% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 40.2 years. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.0 males. 90.5% of residents lived in urban areas and 9.5% lived in rural areas.

The racial makeup of the county was 64.9% White, 8.9% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.6% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 12.7% from some other race, and 10.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 26.0% of the population. There were 185,030 households in the county, of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 33.2% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 197,033 housing units, of which 6.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 60.6% were owner-occupied and 39.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.1%.

Racial and ethnic composition +Hampden County, Massachusetts – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)389,831373,426339,625313,846278,46487.99%81.84%74.44%67.71%59.78%Black or African American alone (NH)27,20732,10534,03435,69235,9886.14%7.04%7.46%7.70%7.73%Native American alone (NH)4726687697176590.11%0.15%0.17%0.15%0.14%Asian alone (NH)1,5653,7055,8358,93712,1100.35%0.81%1.28%1.93%2.60%Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census143114169xx0.03%0.02%0.04%Other race alone (NH)1,2016215055881,9450.27%0.14%0.11%0.13%0.42%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census6,1206,82015,171xx1.34%1.47%3.26%Hispanic or Latino (any race)22,74245,78569,19796,776121,3195.13%10.03%15.17%20.88%26.04%Total443,018456,310456,228463,490465,825 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2010 census As of the 2010 United States census, there were 463,490 people, 179,927 households, and 115,961 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 192,175 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 76.5% white, 9.0% black or African American, 2.0% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 9.2% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 20.9% of the population. The largest ancestry groups were:

17.9% Puerto Rican 17.4% Irish 12.7% French 11.0% Polish 10.8% Italian 8.8% English 6.0% German 5.5% French Canadian 2.6% American 2.2% Portuguese 2.0% Scottish 1.6% Russian 1.4% West Indian 1.3% Scotch-Irish 1.1% Swedish

Of the 179,927 households, 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.9% were married couples living together, 17.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.6% were non-families, and 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.09. The median age was 38.6 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,724 and the median income for a family was $61,061. Males had a median income of $50,207 versus $37,765 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,718. About 13.2% of families and 17.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.5% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.

Demographic breakdown by town

Income

The ranking of unincorporated communities that are included on the list are reflective if the census designated locations and villages were included as cities or towns. Data is from the 2007–2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Rank Town Per capitaincome Medianhouseholdincome Medianfamilyincome Population Number ofhouseholds 1 Longmeadow Town $50,203 $100,092 $111,803 15,772 5,605 2 Wilbraham Town $39,372 $88,839 $107,871 14,145 5,393 3 Hampden Town $38,396 $79,773 $103,173 5,134 1,960 4 Montgomery Town $36,575 $78,125 $90,313 742 291 5 Tolland Town $36,567 $67,083 $75,625 434 164 6 Blandford Town $36,412 $78,875 $82,656 1,174 462 Massachusetts State $35,051 $65,981 $83,371 6,512,227 2,522,409 7 East Longmeadow Town $34,417 $76,517 $89,570 15,555 5,660 8 Southwick Town $33,753 $74,721 $86,915 9,425 3,657 9 Wales Town $32,129 $60,938 $70,536 1,914 773 10 Granville Town $32,050 $71,667 $85,625 1,444 554 11 Brimfield Town $31,671 $78,380 $86,695 3,582 1,385 12 Monson Town $31,274 $70,485 $86,333 8,531 3,318 Monson Center CDP $29,938 $50,242 $51,691 1,880 846 13 Agawam City $29,914 $65,339 $76,258 28,408 11,506 14 Holland Town $29,835 $69,565 $79,779 2,595 998 15 West Springfield City $27,946 $54,251 $63,954 28,320 11,571 United States Country $27,915 $52,762 $64,293 306,603,772 114,761,359 16 Palmer City $27,694 $50,864 $58,144 12,161 5,006 17 Ludlow Town $27,644 $60,694 $73,048 21,131 7,876 18 Chester Town $27,630 $56,711 $69,063 1,320 528 19 Westfield City $26,605 $53,772 $72,210 41,025 15,207 20 Russell Town $25,600 $60,398 $72,759 1,846 681 Hampden County County $25,363 $48,866 $61,800 462,752 177,954 21 Chicopee City $23,703 $45,763 $58,118 55,205 23,136 22 Holyoke City $20,370 $33,915 $42,033 39,897 16,012 23 Springfield City $18,483 $35,603 $41,454 152,992 56,211

Education

Colleges and universities

American International College Bay Path University Elms College Holyoke Community College Springfield College Springfield Technical Community College Western New England University Western New England University School of Law Westfield State University

Public school districts Agawam Public Schools Chicopee Public Schools East Longmeadow Public Schools Gateway Regional School District (Blandford, Chester, Huntington, Middlefield, Montgomery, Russell and Worthington) Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District Holyoke Public Schools Longmeadow Public Schools Monson Public Schools Palmer Public Schools Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District Springfield Public Schools Westfield Public Schools West Springfield Public Schools

Other institutions