Berkshire Benchmarks Releases State of the County Update

03:00PM / Monday, May 15, 2023Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Benchmarks data team recently released a State of the County Update for 2023.

This brief report builds on the Berkshire Benchmarks State of the County Report published in May 2022 and highlights notable changes in regional indicators over the past year. The berkshirebenchmarks.org website has also been updated to reflect the most current available data.

The purpose of the Benchmarks initiative and report is to highlight the region's successes and challenges.

The 2022 Berkshire Benchmarks State of the County report provided a comprehensive overview of our region's performance across eight sectors: Economy, Education, Environment, Government, Health, Housing, Social Environment, and Transportation.

In the future, the Berkshire Benchmarks team will continue to monitor these and other indicators to aid with the regional understanding of changes in these sectors and whether the work happening throughout the region is having the intended impact.

Berkshire Benchmarks is a collaborative initiative managed through Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC). Our sources are publicly available data, including the U.S. Census Bureau, the American Community Survey, various Massachusetts data sets, and periodic surveys of Berkshire County residents.

Berkshire Benchmarks aims to work with the community to understand priorities and help inform the region on how we are doing and if we are improving. Berkshire Benchmarks enhances the region's access to quality data and analysis.

Tags: BRPC,

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

Breathing Room

0% APY for 12 months balance transfer offer. Apply today! Click to learn more. Insured by NCUA.

www.greylock.org

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Pittsfield Proposes 2.64 Tax Rate Hike

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
04:34PM / Tuesday, November 10, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The proposed tax rate for fiscal year 2027 is less than 40 cents per $1,000 valuation for residential properties and would increase the average property tax bill by about $146 per year.

On Tuesday's City Council meeting agenda is a request from the mayor and Board of Assessors to use a residential factor of .8245 at a shift of 1.75, resulting in a residential tax rate of $17.88 and a commercial, industrial, and personal property tax rate of $37.95.

These matters are typically referred to the Committee of the Whole for deliberation. The proposed rates for residential and commercial are 38 cents and $1.05 more, respectively, from FY26.

The average residential home, valued at $316,792 in FY27, has increased by about $1,500 from the previous fiscal year, and would pay $5,664.24 in yearly taxes.

This is a 2.64 percent, or $145.88, increase.

The average commercial property worth $239,600 saw a $100 increase in value from the previous fiscal year, and would pay $9,092.82 in yearly taxes. This is a $255.27, or 2.89 percent, increase from the previous fiscal year.

The FY27 tax levy of $124,468,317 is a $5.3 million increase from the previous year, or 4.45 percent. There is about $388,000 in excess levy capacity, $2.3 million in new growth, and the levy limit is $124,856,412.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, 11 single-family homes were added to Pittsfield's housing stock this fiscal year, increasing the city's total assessed value by $19,987,600 to $3,592,737,600.

The city lost five two-family homes in 2027, and that housing type decreased by $3.2 million in assessed value, now worth $384,620,400.

View Full Story