Amherst is a medium-sized city located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 40,059 people and seven associated neighborhoods, Amherst is the 41st largest community in Massachusetts. Housing costs in Amherst are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in Massachusetts.Amherst is a decidedly white-collar city, with fully 89.29% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Amherst is a city of professionals, service providers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Amherst who work in teaching (18.51%), food service (12.87%), and office and administrative support (8.44%). Also of interest is that Amherst has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. A relatively large number of people in Amherst telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 16.72% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. In addition, Amherst is a major college town that has a very high percentage of its residents over 18 years old who are college students. Naturally, collegiate life has a major influence on local Amherst culture, lifestyle and entertainment options. Amherst really pulses to the beat of the academic calendar. In Amherst every fall, returning students reinvigorate the community, who you will notice are all over town, buying groceries, out with friends, and getting acquainted or re-acquainted with each other and Amherst. One of the beneficial effects that colleges provide is that they tend to be lasting institutions that deliver direct economic benefits to the local economy in the form of such things as jobs for faculty and staff, and spending by students. Amherst benefits directly from this. Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Amherst spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 19.20 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be. Although the majority of commuting trips in the city are by private automobile, Amherst is somewhat unusual for a city of its size for having a substantial number of people who use public transportation. For a lot of people, the bus helps to get to and from their jobs every morning, which benefits everyone in the Amherst area by reducing both traffic and air pollution.If knowledge is power, Amherst is a pretty powerful place. 72.31% of the adults in Amherst have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns. The per capita income in Amherst in 2022 was $28,179, which is low income relative to Massachusetts, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $112,716 for a family of four. However, Amherst contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Amherst is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Amherst home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Amherst residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Amherst include Irish, Italian, English, German, and Polish. In addition, Amherst has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (16.45%). The most common language spoken in Amherst is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.
