Ware, Massachusetts.
Typical home $351,646 (+2.7% in a year), asking rent $1,750 . Springfield, MA metro.
to buy the typical home at today's mortgage rate — +$1,038 (+128%) since Jan 2020.
- 1 year
- Up $9,279 +3%
- $342,367$351,646 since Sep 2025
- 5 years
- Up $73,499 +26%
- $278,147$351,646 since Sep 2021
Monthly payment to buy the typical home
Home value × that month's 30-year mortgage rate, 20% down, principal and interest. This is the line households feel: prices and rates compound each other.
- Ware$1,846
- Massachusetts$3,439
- United States$1,922
At the last five years' pace, a typical home here doubles in price every 15 years.
Typical home values in Ware, MA rose 2.7% over the past year — faster than the nation's +1.2%.
Living in Ware, Hampshire County, Massachusetts
Ware, in Hampshire County, had 6,266 people in the 2020 census. Half its households earn more than $45,158 a year and half less, against $87,001 across Hampshire County; 14% of its people live below the poverty line. 57% of its homes are lived in by their owners and 43% are rented. Unemployment in Hampshire County was 3.9% in August 2026, and the county had 1.4% fewer jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most residents work in manufacturing, then schools and health care.
Written by AI Claude Sonnet 5.5 wrote this on 23 October 2026 from the figures here, a list of nearby places and what it knows. It can be wrong or out of date.
What it’s like
The place. Ware is a small community in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, with a smaller population than most places in the state. Household incomes here run well below the county's, and more people live below the poverty line than you might expect for the region, though most homes are still lived in by their owners. Winters are cold and snowy, summers are pleasantly warm, and rain and melted snow add up to a good deal over the year.
Work. Residents work mostly in manufacturing, in schools, hospitals and social care, in shops, and in restaurants, hotels and entertainment. Among the largest workplaces in town are Kanzaki Specialty Papers, Ware Schools and Big Y. Fewer adults here hold a four-year degree than across much of the country, and the typical commute is a fairly long one, though a good number of people work from home.
Things to do. Rock House Reservation, a protected area in or beside town, is the closest spot for time outdoors. A short drive away are the Quabbin Reservoir and the Ware River, both good for a walk or a look at the water. For something farther afield, the Emily Dickinson Museum is a longer drive away.
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- 2,778households
- 15%of adults have a degree
- 14%below the poverty line
- 27 mintypical commute
- 17%work from home
What residents work in
Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Hampshire County had 64,889 jobs in 2025, 1.4% fewer than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Weather through the year
Coldest in January, with highs near 33° and lows near 15°; warmest in July, with highs near 82° and lows near 60°. About 48 inches of snow and 48 inches of rain and melted snow a year.
Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Belchertown weather station, 6 miles away (NOAA).
Largest workplaces in Ware
- Kanzaki Specialty PapersLaminating purchased papers for nonpackaging applications199
- Ware SchoolsSchool district177FTE
- Big Y WC95
- Quabbin Wire & Cable CoInsulating purchased nonferrous wire94
- Behavioral Health NetworkMental health centers and clinics, outpatient55
- Ware Senior LivingAssisted-living facilities without on-site nursing care facilities41
- Behavioral Health NetworkOutpatient mental health centers and clinics29
- Pioneer Valley Environmental29
Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 8 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 562 people in all. School districts come from the Common Core of Data (NCES, 2023–24); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.
Natural hazards
- Ice stormsRelatively moderate
- Strong windRelatively moderate
- LightningRelatively moderate
- Inland floodingRelatively moderate
FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Ware’s census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively low. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.
From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Hampshire County and the Springfield, MA metro.
Ware home values
Zillow measures a city over its municipal boundary. Against the state and national figures, mid-tier homes, smoothed and seasonally adjusted.
- Ware$351,646
- Massachusetts$655,219
- United States$366,157
Levy by levy, and a check of one home’s own bill, the site covers Ohio’s property tax.
Sellers are cutting prices on about 1 in 4 Ware listings — the market is roughly in balance.
When this market ran hot
Each cell is that month's year-on-year home-value growth. Read left to right, top row is the latest year — the 2021–22 band is the boom.
Market heat, inside the city limits
Share of listings with a price cut
The early-warning dial: sellers cut when buyers stop reaching. Rising cuts cool a market months before prices notice.
- Ware27.28%
- United States26.90%
Homes for sale
Active for-sale inventory. More supply hands power to buyers.
- Ware26
New listings per month
Sellers arriving at the market.
- Ware9
Zip codes with a Ware address
A different geography, not a breakdown. The figure above covers the municipality; these zips cover everywhere the Post Office calls Ware — often including townships beyond the city limits. Both come straight from Zillow, and they are not expected to average out.