Hatfield vs Northampton Schools
How the two districts, about 5 miles apart, compare on test scores, high school results, classrooms, spending and housing.
The short answer
- Overall: Northampton ranks higher, #128 to Hatfield's #152 of 328 Massachusetts districts.
- MCAS 2026: Northampton students score higher: ELA 50% vs 39%, Math 42% vs 32% met expectations.
- SAT: Northampton averages 163 points higher (1264 vs 1101).
- Spending: Similar: $22,535 per student in Hatfield and $21,336 in Northampton.
- Homes: Homes cost more in Northampton: single-family homes average $571K vs $459K. The average tax bill is $6,735 in Hatfield and $7,801 in Northampton.
- Class size: Smaller in Hatfield: 11 students on average vs 16.9.
MCAS results, 2026
Share of students meeting or exceeding expectations, all tested grades combined. The districts serve different grades (Hatfield: grades 3–8; Northampton: grades 3–10), so the state figure isn't shown.
| Year | Hatfield | Northampton |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 39% | 50% |
| 2025 | — | 51% |
| 2024 | — | 49% |
| 2023 | — | 52% |
| 2022 | — | 48% |
| 2021 | — | 54% |
| Year | Hatfield | Northampton |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 32% | 42% |
| 2025 | — | 41% |
| 2024 | — | 39% |
| 2023 | — | 43% |
| 2022 | — | 38% |
| 2021 | — | 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
| Hatfield | Northampton | |
|---|---|---|
| Students in classes | 310 | 2,533 |
| English learners | 1% | 5.2% |
| Students with disabilities | 24.2% | 25.4% |
| White | 90.1% | 68.1% |
| Asian | 1.7% | 2.6% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 4.3% | 18.6% |
| Black/African American | 0.7% | 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.