Historical U.S. Census Totals for Franklin County, Massachusetts

This article shows U.S. Census totals for Franklin County, Massachusetts, broken down by municipality, from 1900 to 2000.

Like most areas of New England, Franklin County is (and has been at all times since well before the 20th century) entirely divided into incorporated municipalities. There is no unincorporated territory. For any census, adding up the totals for each municipality should yield the county total.

There are two types of municipalities in Massachusetts, towns and cities. The tables in the New England Historical U.S. Census Totals series differentiate between towns and cities; however, there have never been any cities in Franklin County.

For more information on the New England municipal system, see New England town.

Corporate changes since 1900[]

There have been no changes in Franklin County's municipality roster since 1900.

1900[]

County Total: 41,209

Greenfield 7,927
Montague 6,150
Orange 5,520
Deerfield 1,969
Northfield 1,966
Colrain 1,749
Shelburne 1,508
Conway 1,458
Buckland 1,446
Charlemont 1,094
Gill 1,015
Erving 973
Ashfield 955
New Salem 807
Bernardston 792
Sunderland 771
Whately 769
Leverett 744
Warwick 619
Rowe 549
Wendell 492
Heath 441
Hawley 429
Shutesbury 382
Leyden 379
Monroe 305

1910[]

County Total: 43,600

Greenfield 10,427
Montague 6,866
Orange 5,282
Deerfield 2,209
Colrain 1,741
Northfield 1,642
Buckland 1,573
Shelburne 1,498
Conway 1,230
Erving 1,148
Sunderland 1,047
Charlemont 1,001
Ashfield 959
Gill 942
Whately 846
Bernardston 741
Leverett 728
New Salem 639
Wendell 502
Warwick 477
Rowe 456
Hawley 424
Leyden 363
Heath 346
Shutesbury 267
Monroe 246

1920[]

County Total: 49,361

Greenfield 15,462
Montague 7,675
Orange 5,393
Deerfield 2,803
Northfield 1,775
Colrain 1,607
Shelburne 1,436
Buckland 1,433
Erving 1,295
Sunderland 1,289
Whately 1,234
Conway 961
Gill 879
Ashfield 869
Charlemont 808
Bernardston 769
Leverett 695
New Salem 512
Hawley 390
Wendell 346
Rowe 333
Leyden 330
Warwick 327
Heath 325
Shutesbury 242
Monroe 173

1930[]

County Total: 49,612

Greenfield 15,500
Montague 8,081
Orange 5,365
Deerfield 2,882
Northfield 1,888
Shelburne 1,544
Buckland 1,497
Colrain 1,391
Erving 1,263
Sunderland 1,159
Whately 1,136
Gill 983
Conway 900
Bernardston 893
Ashfield 860
Charlemont 816
Leverett 677
New Salem 414
Warwick 367
Wendell 353
Heath 331
Hawley 313
Rowe 298
Leyden 261
Shutesbury 222
Monroe 218

1940[]

County Total: 49,453

Greenfield 15,672
Montague 7,582
Orange 5,611
Deerfield 2,684
Northfield 1,975
Shelburne 1,636
Buckland 1,527
Colrain 1,497
Erving 1,328
Sunderland 1,085
Whately 979
Bernardston 954
Conway 944
Gill 931
Ashfield 872
Charlemont 789
Leverett 688
Warwick 444
Wendell 391
Heath 359
New Salem 357
Leyden 260
Hawley 257
Rowe 233
Monroe 207
Shutesbury 191

1950[]

County Total: 52,747

Greenfield 17,349
Montague 7,812
Orange 5,894
Deerfield 3,086
Northfield 2,246
Shelburne 1,756
Buckland 1,605
Colrain 1,546
Erving 1,322
Bernardston 1,117
Gill 1,070
Ashfield 977
Whately 939
Sunderland 905
Conway 873
Charlemont 855
Leverett 791
Warwick 429
New Salem 392
Wendell 342
Leyden 306
Heath 305
Hawley 244
Shutesbury 213
Rowe 199
Monroe 174

1960[]

County Total: 54,864

Greenfield 17,690
Montague 7,836
Orange 6,154
Deerfield 3,338
Northfield 2,320
Shelburne 1,739
Buckland 1,664
Colrain 1,426
Bernardston 1,370
Sunderland 1,279
Erving 1,272
Gill 1,203
Ashfield 1,131
Whately 1,037
Leverett 914
Charlemont 897
Conway 875
Warwick 426
New Salem 397
Leyden 343
Heath 304
Wendell 292
Shutesbury 265
Hawley 251
Rowe 231
Monroe 210

1970[]

County Total: 59,210

Greenfield 18,116
Montague 8,451
Orange 6,104
Deerfield 3,850
Northfield 2,631
Sunderland 2,236
Buckland 1,892
Shelburne 1,836
Bernardston 1,659
Colrain 1,420
Ashfield 1,274
Erving 1,260
Whately 1,145
Gill 1,100
Leverett 1,005
Conway 998
Charlemont 897
Warwick 492
Shutesbury 489
New Salem 474
Wendell 405
Heath 383
Leyden 376
Rowe 277
Hawley 224
Monroe 216

1980[]

County Total: 64,317

Greenfield 18,436
Montague 8,011
Orange 6,844
Deerfield 4,517
Sunderland 2,929
Northfield 2,386
Shelburne 2,002
Buckland 1,864
Bernardston 1,750
Colrain 1,552
Leverett 1,471
Ashfield 1,458
Whately 1,341
Erving 1,326
Gill 1,259
Conway 1,213
Charlemont 1,149
Shutesbury 1,049
Wendell 694
New Salem 688
Warwick 603
Leyden 498
Heath 482
Rowe 336
Hawley 280
Monroe 179

1990[]

County Total: 70,092

Greenfield 18,666
Montague 8,316
Orange 7,312
Deerfield 5,018
Sunderland 3,399
Northfield 2,838
Bernardston 2,048
Shelburne 2,012
Buckland 1,928
Leverett 1,785
Colrain 1,757
Ashfield 1,715
Gill 1,583
Shutesbury 1,561
Conway 1,529
Whately 1,375
Erving 1,372
Charlemont 1,249
Wendell 899
New Salem 802
Warwick 740
Heath 716
Leyden 662
Rowe 378
Hawley 317
Monroe 115

2000[]

County Total: 71,535

Greenfield 18,168
Montague 8,468
Orange 7,518
Deerfield 4,750
Sunderland 3,777
Northfield 2,951
Shelburne 2,155
Bernardston 2,058
Buckland 1,991
Colrain 1,813
Conway 1,809
Shutesbury 1,806
Ashfield 1,800
Leverett 1,698
Whately 1,563
Erving 1,467
Gill 1,363
Charlemont 1,358
Wendell 986
New Salem 929
Heath 805
Leyden 772
Warwick 750
Rowe 351
Hawley 336
Monroe 93

Notes[]

2000 Census

The Census Bureau made a number of revisions to 2000 census totals subsequent to their initial release. The 2000 total for the town of Montague was originally reported as 8,489; for the town of Shutesbury, 1,810; for the town of Leverett 1,633, and for the town of Whately, 1,573. The totals were later revised to those shown in the list above. This may have been done in part to correct assignment errors among these towns, as the totals for two went up and two went down, but the original figures also do not appear to add up to the county total (they are 30 short).

Special Note Regarding Greenfield[]

Sources will sometimes quote varying numbers of cities in Massachusetts; certain municipalities which typically identify themselves as “towns” are sometimes shown as being cities. In particular, there are ten “towns” in Massachusetts which have been determined by the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s office to have forms of government that legally make them cities, at least for purposes of certain state laws that draw a distinction between the two forms of government. Greenfield is among the affected communities.

These municipalities, including Greenfield, are considered to be towns for purposes of the “New England town” wikipedia article and its associated pages. This is done because these municipalities are most commonly referred to as towns (the towns themselves, and even other branches of state government besides the Secretary of State, usually refer to them as “towns”), and to maintain consistency with the other New England states (while there are undoubtedly municipalities in other New England states that call themselves towns but would be considered cities under the standard applied by the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s office, this attempt to classify such towns as cities has not been undertaken in other states). The reader should be aware, however, that some sources will identify these municipalities, including Greenfield, as cities. It is unclear when Greenfield adopted its current form of government.

The Census Bureau has been inconsistent in its handling of these municipalities. The Census Bureau listed all of the communities affected by the Secretary of State’s determination as towns up through the 1990 Census; in 2000, it listed some, but not all, as cities. In the 2000 Census, Greenfield was listed as a town. As of 2006, Greenfield is still shown as a town in current Census materials.