Welcome to Amherst ...
Amherst is located in Hampshire County<1>.
Amherst was settled in 1703 and was incorporated in 1775.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Amherst has a population of 40,411 people<2> (see below for details).
Amherst is 260 feet [79 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Amherst lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Amherst lies within the (413) area code.
The ZIP codes for Amherst: 01002-01004<4>
Websites for Amherst ...
Official Website: www.amherstma.gov/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Amherst had an population of 40,411 people. This is an increase of 6.85% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 15.88% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Amherst had a population of 37,819 people (or 23.74% of the total population of Hampshire County). This makes Amherst the county's most populous community.
The population of Amherst represents 0.58% of the population of Massachusetts (which has 6,547,629 people), making it the state's 42nd most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 37,819 people, the population of Amherst increased 8.44% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 34,874 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Amherst.
Communities Also Named Amherst ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 24 communities that are also named Amherst - they are located in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas (2), Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York (2), North Carolina, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Ontario, Quebec, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas (2), Virginia (2) and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Amherst.
Communities near Amherst ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Amherst.
- Springfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Springfield is located in Hampden County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 152,646 people
- Chicopee
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicopee
- Chicopee is located in Hampden County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,825 people
- Holyoke
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holyoke
- Holyoke is located in Hampden County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 39,921 people
- West Springfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Springfield
- West Springfield is located in Hampden County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28,397 people
- Northampton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northampton
- Northampton is located in Hampshire County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28,362 people
- Ludlow
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south) - South Hadley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hadley
- South Hadley is located in Hampshire County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,539 people
- Greenfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Greenfield is located in Franklin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,241 people
- Easthampton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easthampton
- Easthampton is located in Hampshire County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,750 people
- Belchertown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belchertown have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belchertown
- Belchertown is located in Hampshire County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,103 people
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Amherst. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Amherst.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Amherst. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Amherst.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Amherst. Our list includes 10 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Amherst.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Amherst ...
Looking for more information about Amherst? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Amherst, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Amherst.
Adding Amherst to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Amherst in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Amherst was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>
From that list, the Amherst post office opened in 1806.
We also found Amherst in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Amherst.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Amherst: www.amherstma.gov/
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Massachusetts' counties, including Hampshire, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Amherst. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Amherst - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Amherst). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Amherst or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Amherst includes: 01002, 1003 & 01004. |
| <5> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <6> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |