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 indexed hardness

49PPM

Soft

Indexed range 24.3–128 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, soft is the largest category, covering 183 of 328 profiles with hardness data. The state median is 49 PPM, but the full indexed range is 24.3–128 PPM.

State distribution

Hardness across indexed ZIPs

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

Soft · 0–60 PPM183

Moderately hard · 61–120 PPM141

Hard · 121–180 PPM4

Very hard · 181+ PPM0

Evidence coverage

What the current records support

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

Low-confidence hardness profiles

Nearest site more than 25 miles away

Reported source water

Utility source mix

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

Highest medians

Hardest indexed cities

Lowest medians

Softest indexed cities

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

43PPM

County	Median	Range	ZIP profiles
Berkshire County	114 PPM	24.3–128	21
Franklin County	100 PPM	30.2–111	17
Hampshire County	93 PPM	43.9–114.5	16
Worcester County	67 PPM	37.8–94.7	60
Plymouth County	62 PPM	43–64.1	25
Essex County	52 PPM	42.4–69.1	32
Hampden County	51 PPM	42.8–110.5	22
Bristol County	46 PPM	41.7–65.8	19
Middlesex County	43 PPM	37.8–76.9	55
Norfolk County	43 PPM	40.5–66.1	28
Suffolk County	43 PPM	42.8–44.9	5
Barnstable County	33 PPM	30.3–50	20

Why local comparisons matter here

Hardness across indexed ZIPs

What the current records support

Utility source mix

Hardest indexed cities

Softest indexed cities

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 indexed county medians