Amherst is a medium-sized town located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 34,873 people and seven constituent neighborhoods, Amherst is the 42nd largest community in Massachusetts.

Amherst is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 91.93% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Amherst is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Amherst who work in teaching (19.26%), office and administrative support jobs (16.65%), and food service (8.65%).

Of important note, Amherst is also a town of artists. Amherst has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Amherst's character.

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.

Because Amherst has a very large number of students who are 18 years or older and in college, it is thought of as a college town. This has a major influence on local Amherst lifestyle, entertainment, and culture in general. Life in Amherst is very much tied to the academic calendar: when students return from the summer break in the fall, one will notice them out and about, buying groceries, out with friends, and generally getting re-acquainted with each other. In Amherst, people study hard and play hard, and there is ample opportunity to do both.

Residents of the town have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 18.03 minutes getting to work every day.

Even though Amherst is not a small town, it doesn't have a public transportation system that anybody uses for their daily commute to work.

Amherst Information and Demographics

If knowledge is power, Amherst is a pretty powerful place. 68.67% 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 14.96% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in Amherst in 2000 was $17,427, which is low income relative to Massachusetts, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $69,708 for a family of four.

Amherst is a very ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Amherst home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Amherst is White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Amherst include Irish, English, Italian, German, Polish, French Canadian, Russian, and French.

The most common language spoken in Amherst is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.