Finding 1 - Mass Save Municipal Impact Study

Twenty-seven percent of residents in communities with incomes below the state median contribute more than the state average rate to Mass Save.

There are significant discrepancies between municipalities’ net Mass Save contributions. Some municipalities contributed far more in EECs than they received in Mass Save incentives, while other municipalities received much more than they contributed.

When examining municipalities ordered by income, the analysis revealed that 16 lower-income communities were among the top 25 net contributors into Mass Save. Figure 3 displays these municipalities in decreasing order of net contribution amount. Of these municipalities, 11 have per capita incomes below the $47,767 state median income, and yet, they have per capita contributions significantly above the state average. For example, Lowell has a per capita income of only 56% of the state median, but contributes $162.57 per capita, or 2.4 times more than the state average of $66.95, and 5.5 times more than the state municipal median of $29.32.⁴³

Figure 3. Municipality Ranking by Net Amount Contributed, Top 25 Municipalities, 
Total Amounts (2019–2023)

Rank	Municipality	Net Contributions	Net Contributions per Capita*	Income per Capita	Percentile of Median Municipal Income**	Percent of Population Who Rent	Percent of Population in EJ Blocks
1	Boston	$47,675,842	$72.92	$50,375	105%	64%	84%
2	Newton	$26,800,718	$303.12	$239,346	501%	32%	10%
3	Lowell (GC)	$18,581,554	$162.57	$26,787	56%	54%	96%
4	Worcester (GC)	$17,312,291	$83.38	$25,451	53%	55%	92%
5	Cambridge	$16,753,053	$141.72	$78,194	164%	66%	95%
6	Fall River (GC)	$13,406,780	$142.87	$62,029	130%	64%	81%
7	Brookline	$11,224,286	$178.27	$25,403	53%	56%	99%
8	Springfield (GC)	$9,263,141	$60.28	$19,256	40%	49%	100%
9	Marlborough	$8,762,816	$212.80	$42,729	89%	42%	79%
10	Barnstable (GC)	$8,682,367	$174.66	$32,869	69%	26%	32%
11	Nantucket	$8,632,994	$597.69	$104,521	219%	24%	72%
12	Everett (GC)	$8,572,051	$170.36	$41,830	88%	64%	100%
13	Brockton (GC)	$7,948,212	$75.78	$34,762	73%	42%	100%
14	Lynn (GC)	$7,544,227	$74.52	$25,320	53%	50%	96%
15	Billerica	$7,346,524	$176.52	$38,481	81%	22%	28%
16	Weston	$7,345,204	$630.76	$551,525	1155%	10%	0%
17	Lawrence (GC)	$7,007,478	$79.48	$20,915	44%	68%	100%
18	Chelmsford	$7,000,716	$193.50	$24,704	52%	18%	24%
19	Dracut	$6,538,376	$202.48	$34,084	71%	24%	38%
20	Needham	$6,205,525	$192.98	$169,870	356%	16%	0%
21	Quincy (GC)	$6,160,389	$60.64	$43,000	90%	54%	90%
22	Waltham	$6,117,515	$94.88	$50,143	105%	51%	74%
23	Methuen (GC)	$6,111,813	$114.34	$37,061	78%	28%	82%
24	Tewksbury	$5,971,377	$191.13	$51,763	108%	15%	0%
25	Weymouth	$47,675,842	$99.90	$44,810	94%	32%	41%

*    The state average Mass Save net contribution per capita (that is, total net contributions divided by total population for all available cities) is $66.95.

**   This refers to the personal income per capita of the median Massachusetts municipality for FY 2021 (Concord at $47,767).

Furthermore, Figure 3 incorporates the following three socioeconomic indicators in addition to income per capita: a GC designation, the renter housing rate, and the percentage of the municipal population living in EJ block groups.⁴⁴ Approximately half of the top 25 contributing cities display at least one of these indicators—11 are GCs, 14 are above the state average for renter percentage, and 10 have very high percentages (greater than 90%) of their populations living in EJ block groups.

Figure 4 below displays data on all municipalities, in order of increasing median income, and placed in 10 groups of equal population size, known as deciles. Decile 1 includes the municipalities with the lowest 10% of median incomes, while decile 10 represents those with the highest 10%.

Note how the lowest two income deciles (in pink shading) contribute more than deciles 3 through 7. In plain language, the municipalities with the lowest median incomes contribute more income to Mass Save than they receive, and more than most municipalities. Moreover, those income contributions represent a higher percentage of their residents’ personal income when compared to all other municipalities. At the top of the income scale (in blue shading), households may contribute the same (decile 8) or more (deciles 9 and 10) in net amounts, but much less as a percentage of income.

Figure 4. Comparison of Mass Save Total Net Contributions (2019–2023) by Massachusetts Municipalities, in Increasing Order of Income, Sorted by Income Decile

Income Decile:  Lowest to Highest	Number of Municipalities	Population	Total Income Net Contribution	Total per Capita Net Contribution	Net Contributions per Capita As a Percentage of Daily Income*	Average Income per Capita, per Year
1	14	681,890	$39,200,828	$57.49	95%	$22,044
2	24	668,010	$45,060,045	$67.45	91%	$26,995
3	42	691,456	$37,780,234	$54.64	56%	$35,313
4	44	725,056	$33,357,667	$46.01	41%	$40,481
5	38	602,642	$26,191,354	$43.46	29%	$54,891
6	44	725,957	$33,089,023	$45.58	31%	$52,833
7	35	658,244	$36,760,909	$55.85	32%	$63,468
8	11	792,481	$55,420,831	$69.93	34%	$74,927
9	32	585,648	$45,307,546	$77.36	32%	$87,336
10	38	686,606	$104,274,262	$151.87	32%	$175,656

*  This is used as an illustration of the different impacts of the net contribution for the different income deciles—the same amount represents a much higher percentage of daily income for the lowest two deciles, as compared to higher ones.

Figure 5 displays the municipalities below the state median income with net contributions higher than the state average of $66.95 per capita, in decreasing order of population size. There are 48 municipalities in this category (or 13.7% of the total number of municipalities, containing 25% of the state population).⁴⁵ Some of them are small and may be considered outliers; nonetheless, the top half of the list is characterized by low incomes, high net contributions, and relatively high populations. This cluster of approximately two dozen municipalities raises equity questions, since the trend suggests an inequitable incentive structure which places a heavier burden on residents with fewer resources.

 

Figure 5. Municipalities Under the State Median Income Contributing at More than the State Average Rate of $66.95 per Capita (2019–2023)

Municipality	Net Contributions: Percentage of State Average ($66.95)	Net Contributions per Capita	Income per Capita (2021)	Percentile of Median Municipal Income (2021)	Percentage Renter (2023 ACS)	Population Percentage in EJ Block Groups (2022)	Population (ACS 2023)
Worcester (GC)	125%	$83.38	$25,451	53%	55%	92%	207,621
Lowell (GC)	243%	$162.57	$26,787	56%	54%	96%	114,296
Brockton (GC)	113%	$75.78	$24,698	52%	42%	100%	104,890
Lynn (GC)	111%	$74.52	$25,320	53%	50%	96%	101,241
Fall River (GC)	213%	$142.87	$21,636	45%	64%	81%	93,840
Lawrence (GC)	119%	$79.48	$20,915	44%	68%	100%	88,172
Haverhill (GC)	119%	$79.38	$34,981	73%	38%	57%	67,415
Malden (GC)	135%	$90.32	$34,334	72%	57%	100%	65,133
Taunton (GC)	111%	$74.19	$30,438	64%	37%	51%	60,412
Weymouth	149%	$99.90	$44,810	94%	32%	41%	59,114
Medford	130%	$87.25	$47,556	100%	47%	73%	58,744
Revere (GC)	144%	$96.13	$30,194	63%	50%	100%	57,954
Methuen (GC)	171%	$114.34	$37,061	78%	28%	82%	53,455
Everett (GC)	254%	$170.36	$25,543	53%	64%	100%	50,318
Pittsfield (GC)	165%	$110.51	$31,497	66%	37%	49%	43,076
Fitchburg (GC)	129%	$86.13	$25,471	53%	44%	86%	41,579
Marlborough	318%	$212.80	$42,729	89%	42%	79%	41,179
Dracut	302%	$202.48	$42,616	89%	24%	38%	32,291
Milford	124%	$83.09	$39,858	83%	29%	76%	30,257
Stoughton	171%	$114.44	$41,746	87%	24%	97%	28,962
Bridgewater	210%	$140.33	$41,141	86%	24%	23%	28,818
Saugus	200%	$133.89	$44,588	93%	25%	58%	28,630
West Springfield	222%	$148.37	$36,399	76%	41%	64%	28,424
Agawam	270%	$180.67	$35,689	75%	26%	9%	28,406
Ludlow	138%	$92.52	$35,908	75%	26%	30%	20,845
Norton	332%	$222.18	$47,373	99%	16%	0%	19,146
Winthrop	255%	$170.92	$45,268	95%	44%	44%	18,319
Somerset	144%	$96.43	$39,559	83%	15%	0%	18,209
Swansea	146%	$97.82	$40,531	85%	13%	0%	17,375
Abington	143%	$96.01	$42,780	90%	26%	0%	16,970
Fairhaven	152%	$101.92	$41,830	88%	26%	9%	15,878
Whitman	141%	$94.34	$38,112	80%	27%	0%	15,316
North Adams	194%	$129.65	$19,982	42%	42%	83%	12,483
Hanson	282%	$188.78	$46,839	98%	10%	0%	10,586
Salisbury	186%	$124.69	$41,812	88%	25%	0%	9,259
Townsend	222%	$148.44	$41,852	88%	29%	11%	9,004
Dighton	111%	$74.35	$42,730	89%	10%	0%	8,182
Adams	150%	$100.45	$26,598	56%	37%	83%	7,995
West Bridgewater	159%	$106.65	$44,799	94%	16%	0%	7,681
Williamstown	187%	$125.15	$47,254	99%	30%	24%	7,385
Lee	207%	$138.58	$39,565	83%	19%	17%	5,694
Oak Bluffs	193%	$129.35	$35,050	73%	29%	47%	5,355
Avon	202%	$135.09	$45,108	94%	21%	100%	4,725
West Tisbury	216%	$144.85	$44,013	92%	18%	0%	3,586
Ashby	105%	$70.50	$38,265	80%	6%	0%	3,198
Cheshire	106%	$70.77	$36,195	76%	13%	0%	3,195
Egremont	212%	$142.21	$39,823	83%	21%	0%	1,371
Tyringham	392%	$262.70	$41,074	86%	11%	0%	420

43.     The median is used, rather than the average, in order to provide a better representation of the income of the typical Massachusetts municipality, given that income is highly skewed. In this context, the median municipality by 2021 income is Concord at $47,767.

44.     GCs and Environmental Justice populations are the two most common ways in which the Commonwealth identifies challenged communities, and they are fully explained in sections 3 and 4 following; as to income per capita and the owner-occupied housing rate, they are both well-established measures of economic well-being, closely tracked by the US Federal Government: see the Income and Poverty and Housing dedicated pages from the US Census Bureau.

45.     There are 175 municipalities with incomes below the state median. Of these, 48 contribute at rates higher than the state average and 107 contribute at rates lower than the state average. Data was missing for the remaining 20.

Date published:	September 22, 2025