State water index

Massachusetts water hardness

Search 302 indexed communities and 328 ZIP profiles, then compare the underlying utility, source, distance, and reporting context.

Median regional evidence

78PPM

Moderately Hard

Indexed range 9–236 PPM

ZIP profiles: 328
Cities: 302
Matched utilities: 526
Counties: 14

Understanding Massachusetts

Why local comparisons matter here

Massachusetts includes large reservoir-supplied systems, smaller surface-water utilities, and local groundwater from bedrock or sand-and-gravel aquifers.

In this index, moderately hard is the largest category, covering 175 of 317 profiles with hardness data. The state median is 78 PPM, but the full indexed range is 9–236 PPM.

State distribution

Hardness across indexed ZIPs

Counts describe published ZIP profiles, not a population-weighted statewide sample.

Soft · 0–60 PPM118

Moderately hard · 61–120 PPM175

Hard · 121–180 PPM15

Very hard · 181+ PPM9

Evidence coverage

What the current records support

Hardness estimate: 97%
Lead 90th percentile: 100%
Copper 90th percentile: 32%

107

Low-confidence hardness profiles

177

Research-comparison eligible profiles

Reported source water

Utility source mix

Groundwater: 345
Surface water: 170
Groundwater influenced by surface water: 11

Highest medians

Highest eligible city medians

Lowest medians

Lowest eligible city medians

City directory

Explore Massachusetts by city

Search by city or county, then sort by name, hardness, or ZIP coverage.

302 cities · 328 ZIP profiles

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County

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302 cities found

Page 1 of 13

Abington

Plymouth County · 1 ZIP

55PPM regional

County	Median	Range	ZIP profiles
Berkshire County	146 PPM	13.3–212	21
Hampshire County	96 PPM	12–114	16
Franklin County	95 PPM	12.3–236	17
Worcester County	84 PPM	10.1–217	60
Essex County	81 PPM	74–126	32
Middlesex County	79 PPM	66.2–109	55
Suffolk County	79 PPM	78.7–79.4	5
Norfolk County	64 PPM	29.1–79.1	28
Hampden County	41 PPM	19.3–129	22
Bristol County	36 PPM	21.1–55.3	19
Dukes County	31 PPM	30.7–31.9	6
Plymouth County	29 PPM	23.5–79.4	25

Why local comparisons matter here

Hardness across indexed ZIPs

What the current records support

Utility source mix

Highest eligible city medians

Lowest eligible city medians

Explore Massachusetts by city

Abington

Acton

Acushnet Center

Adams

Agawam Town

Amesbury Town

Amherst Town

Andover

Arlington

Ashfield

Ashland

Athol

Attleboro

Auburn

Avon

Baldwinville

Barnstable Town

Barre

Belchertown

Bellingham

Belmont

Berlin

Bernardston

Beverly

Highest regional-evidence county medians