Hadley vs Northampton Schools
How the two districts, about 6 miles apart, compare on test scores, high school results, classrooms, spending and housing.
The short answer
- Overall: Hadley ranks higher, #117 to Northampton's #128 of 328 Massachusetts districts.
- MCAS 2026: Mixed: Northampton leads in ELA (50% vs 46%), Hadley in Math (45% vs 42%). Statewide: 40% and 41%.
- SAT: Northampton averages 86 points higher (1264 vs 1178).
- Spending: Hadley spends $2,593 more per student ($23,929 vs $21,336).
- Homes: Homes cost more in Northampton: single-family homes average $571K vs $476K. The average tax bill is $5,454 in Hadley and $7,801 in Northampton.
MCAS results, 2026
Share of students meeting or exceeding expectations, all tested grades combined. Both districts test grades 3–10; "State" is the statewide figure for the same grades.
| Year | Hadley | Northampton | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 46% | 50% | 40% |
| 2025 | 53% | 51% | 42% |
| 2024 | 51% | 49% | 42% |
| 2023 | 54% | 52% | 45% |
| 2022 | 51% | 48% | 44% |
| 2021 | 61% | 54% | 48% |
| Year | Hadley | Northampton | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 45% | 42% | 41% |
| 2025 | 46% | 41% | 41% |
| 2024 | 48% | 39% | 42% |
| 2023 | 41% | 43% | 42% |
| 2022 | 49% | 38% | 41% |
| 2021 | 39% | 36% | 36% |
No test in 2020. Statewide 10th-grade results dropped after 2024, when passing the MCAS stopped being a graduation requirement.
High school results
Averages of each district's ranked high schools. "MA avg" is the average of all districts with high school data.
Classrooms, teachers & spending
Spending is total per-pupil expenditure from all sources in FY2024. Class size is the average across all classes in the district.
Students
| Hadley | Northampton | |
|---|---|---|
| Students in classes | 526 | 2,533 |
| English learners | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Students with disabilities | 21.9% | 25.4% |
| White | 73.4% | 68.1% |
| Asian | 5.1% | 2.6% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 14.3% | 18.6% |
| Black/African American | 3.1% | 3.4% |
| Multi-race | 3.3% | 7.2% |
Homes & taxes
What could you afford in either town?
FY2026 averages for single-family homes from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue; for a district with several towns, the comparison uses the average of its towns. Assessed values usually run below recent sale prices.