Berkshire County, Massachusetts

Berkshire County is a county in Massachusetts, United States, about 135 miles west of Boston in
the state’s far western corner. It had a population of 129,026 at the 2020 census, an estimated
129,430 by 2024, and covers 927 square miles (2,400 km2) of land centred near 42°24′N 73°13′W.

Pittsfield is the county seat and largest city; its postal code is 01201. The county holds 2
cities and 30 towns — Massachusetts towns are full municipal governments, not open
unincorporated land, so every acre of Berkshire County sits inside one city or town — and it
runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 25003.

Towns & Villages in Berkshire County

Berkshire County has 32 municipalities on record: 2 incorporated cities and 30 incorporated
towns. Massachusetts has no unincorporated county territory and no separate township layer, so
every place below is its own city or town government; there is no CDP or Unincorp. category here.

Several places county residents ask about are not on this list because they are villages inside
a town rather than separate municipalities: Housatonic (ZIP 01236) sits inside Great Barrington,
Glendale (01229) inside Stockbridge, South Lee (01260) inside Lee, Lenox Dale (01242) inside
Lenox, Ashley Falls (01222) inside Sheffield, Drury (01343) inside Florida, and Berkshire (01224)
inside Hancock. Each keeps its own ZIP code and post office without being a town in its own
right.

ZIP Codes

• 01201 — Pittsfield
• 01247 — North Adams (also serves Clarksburg)
• 01220 — Adams
• 01267 — Williamstown (also serves New Ashford)
• 01230 — Great Barrington (also serves Alford)
• 01236 — Housatonic, a village of Great Barrington
• 01238 — Lee
• 01260 — South Lee, a village of Lee
• 01226 — Dalton (also serves Washington)
• 01240 — Lenox
• 01242 — Lenox Dale, a village of Lenox
• 01257 — Sheffield
• 01222 — Ashley Falls, a village of Sheffield
• 01225 — Cheshire
• 01237 — Lanesborough
• 01262 — Stockbridge
• 01229 — Glendale, a village of Stockbridge
• 01223 — Becket
• 01235 — Hinsdale (also serves Peru)
• 01253 — Otis
• 01029 — East Otis, a village of Otis
• 01254 — Richmond
• 01252 / 01258 — North Egremont and South Egremont, both serving Egremont (and Mount
  Washington)
• 01266 — West Stockbridge
• 01245 — Monterey
• 01255 — Sandisfield
• 01270 — Windsor
• 01224 — Berkshire, a village of Hancock
• 01343 — Drury, a village of Florida
• 01256 — Savoy
• 01264 — Tyringham

New Marlborough has no ZIP of its own; its two villages, Mill River (01244) and Southfield
(01259), each carry a separate code instead.

Geography

Berkshire County occupies the Berkshire Hills and part of the Taconic Range, the western edge
of the state’s uplands. Of its 946 square miles, 927 are land and 20 are water, roughly 2.1
percent. Mount Greylock, at 3,492 feet in Adams and North Adams, is the highest point in
Massachusetts. The Housatonic River runs south through the county’s middle towns, and the
Hoosic River drains the northern towns around North Adams toward the Hudson.

Bennington County, Vermont, borders the county to the north. Franklin County, Hampshire County
and Hampden County, all in Massachusetts, lie to the east. Litchfield County, Connecticut, lies to
the south. Rensselaer County, Columbia County and Dutchess County, all in New York, lie to the
west. Bennington County, Franklin County, Hampshire County, Hampden County, Litchfield County, Rensselaer County, Columbia County and Dutchess County all border Berkshire directly.

Demographics

Berkshire County had a population of 129,026 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts
the county near 129,430 residents as of 2024. Pittsfield and North Adams are the two largest
communities, together holding roughly 44 percent of the county’s population. Median household
income runs $76,013 (2024), below Massachusetts’s statewide figure of $99,858 (2023 ACS).
Population density works out to roughly 139 people per square mile of land, one of the lowest
figures among Massachusetts counties and a sign of the county’s rural character outside
Pittsfield and North Adams.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 11,912 people,
followed by educational services at 8,972 and retail trade at 6,843. Berkshire Medical Center and
General Dynamics Mission Systems, both in Pittsfield, are the county’s largest single employers
outside government. Williams College, in Williamstown, is the anchor employer and institution of
the county’s northern end. North Adams is home to MASS MoCA, a contemporary art museum built
inside a former Sprague Electric factory campus that once employed more than 4,000 workers making
electronic components. The county’s biggest annual event is Tanglewood’s summer season in
Lenox, the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s outdoor home since 1937, running from June through early
September with its classical core in July and August.

History

The Massachusetts General Court established Berkshire County on 21 April 1761, carving it out
of Hampshire County. It took its name from Berkshire, England. Pittsfield was itself named that
year for William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, by royal governor Sir Francis Bernard; the site had
been purchased from the Mohican people in 1738 under the name Pontoosuck.

County government in Berkshire County was abolished effective 1 July 2000, along with most
other Massachusetts counties — the state legislature transferred courts, registries and other
former county functions directly to state agencies, and the county today exists as a geographic
and statistical unit rather than a level of government. Tyringham once held a Shaker community
known as Jerusalem, active from the 1790s until its members left in 1875.

Getting There

No interstate highway crosses the county in full; I-90, the Massachusetts Turnpike, clips the
southern towns near Lee and West Stockbridge before turning east. US 7 runs the length of the
county north-south, and US 20, Route 8 and Route 9 are the main east-west and secondary routes.

• Springfield — about 50 miles east
• Albany, New York — about 35 miles west
• Hartford, Connecticut — about 55 miles south
• Boston — about 135 miles east

Albany International Airport, roughly 35 miles west of Pittsfield in New York, is the nearest
major commercial airport. Berkshire Regional Airport in Pittsfield handles general aviation only.
Amtrak’s Berkshire Flyer seasonal service and CSX freight lines pass through Pittsfield, which
also connects to Amtrak’s Boston – Albany route via bus links.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Berkshire County located?
It sits in the far western corner of Massachusetts, about 135 miles west of Boston, bordered by
Bennington, Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden, Litchfield, Rensselaer, Columbia and Dutchess counties.

What is the population of Berkshire County?
129,026 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate near 129,430.

How big is Berkshire County?
927 square miles (2,400 km2) of land, plus 20 square miles of water, for a total of 946 square
miles.

What is the county seat of Berkshire County?
Pittsfield is the county seat and largest city.

How many towns and cities are in Berkshire County?
Two cities, Pittsfield and North Adams, plus 30 towns from Adams and Alford to Windsor.

What ZIP codes does Berkshire County use?
01201 for Pittsfield, 01247 for North Adams, and a separate code for most other towns, from 01220
(Adams) to 01270 (Windsor); several villages such as Housatonic and Glendale carry their own codes
too.

What is Berkshire County known for?
Tanglewood, the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer home in Lenox, and MASS MoCA, the
contemporary art museum in North Adams, plus Mount Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Massachusetts.