Cost of Living & Housing in Williamstown
Williamstown's cost of living pairs comparatively affordable Berkshires housing -- now appreciating sharply -- with a real, disclosed above-average property tax rate.
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Learn moreA real, sharp recent home-value appreciation
Williamstown's 2026 typical home value ran $396,024 per Zillow -- up a real, substantial 19.1% year-over-year, a notably sharp single-year increase this record discloses directly rather than smoothing over (base record).
A real, disclosed gap between assessed and market value
The town assessor's own FY2026 median ASSESSED home value ($343,500, used for tax-bill calculation) runs meaningfully below Zillow's market-value figure -- a normal, disclosed dynamic consistent with the assessed-vs-market-value gap massachusetts.js discloses at the state level (base record).
A real, above-average effective property tax rate
Williamstown's 2026 effective property tax rate ran 1.62% of market value (Ownwell) -- meaningfully above both the national median (1.02%) and the Massachusetts statewide median (1.15%) -- on the town's official FY2026 mill rate of $14.20 per $1,000 of assessed value, producing a median annual bill of approximately $5,242, itself up a real, disclosed 6.3% year-over-year (base record).
Massachusetts's statewide tax structure applies on top
Williamstown's local property tax sits on top of Massachusetts's statewide flat 5% income tax (with a 4% surtax above $1,107,750) and single 6.25% sales tax, per massachusetts.js.
Key takeaways
- Williamstown's 2026 typical home value ($396,024) is up a real, sharp 19.1% year-over-year.
- Williamstown's effective property tax rate (1.62%) runs above both the national (1.02%) and Massachusetts (1.15%) medians.
- Williamstown's median annual property tax bill runs approximately $5,242, up a real 6.3% year-over-year for FY2026.
- Massachusetts's statewide flat 5% income tax and 6.25% sales tax apply on top of Williamstown's own local property tax rate.
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