Franklin County is one of Massachusetts’ least populous and most rural regions. While housing prices are relatively low compared to the rest of the state, incomes in the region are also lower, resulting in substantial cost burden. The age of the housing and the demand for seasonal homes are significant issues: more than half of the housing stock was built before 1960 and likely needs upgrades; 3.5% of homes are set aside for seasonal use, and 4.4% of homes are vacant for other reasons such as disrepair. The population of the region is projected to decline over the coming decade but new homes are needed to accommodate declining household size, compensate for the loss of year round homes, and achieve a healthy vacancy rate. Preservation and rehab of existing homes and creation of dedicated low-income units is a significant need in the region as well.
Franklin County Housing Overview
The Franklin Regional Council of Governments represents 26 municipalities that make up Franklin County in the northern Connecticut River Valley in Western Massachusetts. FRCOG is the most rural region in the state with 72,000 residents across 725 square miles. The region is home to rich farmland, abundant natural amenities, and staunchly independent hilltowns. The population of the county has been decreasing at a rate of one person every eight days, the population is aging, and household sizes are decreasingcreating a need to diversify the housing stock in the region.
Compared to other regions in Massachusetts, FRCOG has lower incomes and a relatively less expensive housing supply. AMI in Franklin County is $104,000 in 2025, compared to $136,200 statewide. Home prices are even lower in relative terms: in 2023, the median home price for single family homes and condos in Franklin County was $287,500, just over half of the statewide median of $520,000 that year. For Franklin County residents with good credit and some savings, homeownership is relatively achievable: almost two-thirds of 2023 sales were affordable to a household earning the median income for their household size group. However, the attainability of homeownership is on the decline: in 2012: 94% of sales were affordable to a median income households, and the cost of homes has continued to increase since 2023. There are other factors that make homeownership challenging in Franklin County: more than half the county’s housing stock was built before 1960. These older homes often require updates to meet today’s needs in terms of access, resilience, efficiency, and safety. This makes it more difficult for moderate-income households to buy or maintain a home.
For renters and low-income households, the situation is more challenging. Renter median income in Franklin County was just $40,700 in 2023. Only 21% of renters earn more than $75,000 per year, compared to 40% across Massachusetts. There are not enough homes affordable to extremely-low and low-income households, especially renters.[1] The 2024 FRCOG Regional Housing Plan found that in 2023 there was a shortage of 5,200 homes affordable to households below 80% of AMI. As a result, 55% of renters were cost-burdened from 2018 – 2022.
Even though the Franklin County population has been declining, there has been increasing competition for the available homes due to declining household sizes (resulting in household growth) and increasing incidence of seasonal units. As of 2018 – 2022, only 0.7% of homes were available for sale or rent, increasing competition and prices for housing, compounding affordability challenges for many in the region. Over the same period, about 1,200 homes, or 3.5% of the total, were set aside for seasonal use. As of 2024, there were 233 short-term rentals registered with the DOR and rented on a regular basis, equal to about 0.7% of the total housing stock. (For comparison, short term rentals make up 2.6% of the housing stock in Berkshire County and 10.2% in Barnstable County.) The number of homes vacant for “other” reasons (needs repair, abandoned, family reasons, legal proceedings, etc.) is actually greater than the number of seasonal homes: nearly 1,500 homes were vacant for “other” reasons in 2018 – 2022.
Franklin County Housing Demand
The population of Franklin County has been slowly declining since 2000, having fallen about 0.5% from 2010 to 2020. While the county may have experienced a slight bump in population in 2020 as remote workers chose to live in more remote locations, all signs point to declining population moving forward. UMDI population projections created for this plan anticipate population loss of 2.4% to 7.1% over the next ten years. Even the High Series scenario, in which the state attracts and retains more young people; and in which more of them chose to live in lower-cost regions such as Franklin County, results in population decline for the region.
In the Competing and Growing scenario used for the plan, the region is projected to see population losses totaling nearly 5,000 from 2025 – 2035, with declines in all age groups under the age of 40, modest increases for those age 40 – 54, declines in the population 55 – 74, and an increase of 3,800 Oldest Adults age 75 or older.
However, there are significant changes in the distribution of households by age: Under-40 households are projected to decline; there may be a small bump in 40 – 54 year-old householders, and the households 60 – 74 are projected to decline. Oldest Adult households headed by someone 75 or over are projected to grow by more than 2,500, an increase of nearly 48 percent. This growth in the oldest households will put significant strain on health, social, and municipal services and will present a significant challenge for affordability.
Almost all of the net household growth will be among low- and moderate- income Older Adult households, which are projected to increase by nearly 1,000. Non-senior households with no children are projected to decline by 1,200; and families with children are projected to decline across all income groups with the exception of those earning less than $35,000 per year.
Despite a modest decline in households, Franklin County still needs to produce and preserve homes as well as to create affordability in the region. EOHLC estimates that the region needs to add at least 211 homes to the supply over the next ten years to achieve a healthy vacancy rate and compensate for seasonal conversion. If the region experiences slower population decline as envisioned in the High Growth scenario, it could need as many as 1,100 homes over that same period. For comparison, the Franklin County regional housing plan anticipates the region could absorb 340 – 400 market rate homes over the next five years, or 680 – 800 over ten years.
Franklin County Housing Strategies
To preserve, expand, and diversify the housing supply, FRCOG’s regional housing plan identifies a variety of strategies. It calls for increased support for home repairs, both for homeowners and rental homes; and additional actions to address abandoned and distressed housing. To enable production of new homes, the plan recommends updating zoning to enable small-scale multifamily housing types in both new development and retrofits of existing buildings; revising septic system regulations; exploring creative solutions such as off-site construction methods. The plan also recommends regulations to control the spread of short term rentals to preserve existing year-round homes. The plan also advocates for increased adoption of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) to create housing diversity.
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