Greenfield and Montague can be compared as separate municipal housing markets without assuming that either town supplies one uniform type of home. Building condition, exact location and service arrangements can vary within each. Start with equivalent properties, then use the town records to explain the tax and employment context around them.
How does the assessment comparison work?
Greenfield's median single-family assessment is $264,600, while Montague's is $302,800. The associated annual tax illustrations are $4,963 and $4,581. These figures use each town's recorded housing stock and local tax assumptions. They do not price identical homes or predict a sale. For an actual shortlist, compare the current bills and confirm which parcel and municipality each document describes, especially when a listing uses a village or mailing-place name.
Massachusetts Department of Revenue: determining property values.
What can local employment patterns contribute?
The recorded resident shares working within their own municipality are 27.8% for Greenfield and 15.1% for Montague. These are dated patterns from federal employment records, not job openings or personal commute estimates. A household with a confirmed destination should test that route from each address. A household still considering employment options should investigate the actual opportunities separately. The record can help describe where work and housing connect without proving that any particular job or routine is available.
How should building age affect the cash plan?
The median construction years below describe the assessed stock. They do not establish renovation dates or condition. Ask about major systems and seek inspection-based estimates for work that may be needed early. Keep those expenses separate from the cash due at closing. A property with a lower asking price can still require a larger immediate reserve if essential work is unresolved. Comparing both the acquisition cost and the first period of ownership makes the financial difference much clearer.
What does the local record show?
These towns provide local context for the decision in this article. The figures describe the published records and survey periods identified below. Compare the same measures across places, then confirm the details of any actual home before using them in a budget or offer.
Local Figures for This Decision
Download CSV, same columns, same definitions
Selected municipalities, shown alphabetically. Definitions below distinguish assessments, administrative benchmarks and survey estimates from current market quotes.
| Town | Single-family Assessment | Annual Tax Illustration | Residents Working in Town | Median Year Built |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenfield | $264,600 | $4,963 | 27.8% | 1940 |
| Montague | $302,800 | $4,581 | 15.1% | 1954 |
What These Columns Mean
- Town
- Municipality; follow its record below for the full data and address check.
- Single-family Assessment
- Median assessed value of single-family parcels. This is a tax-roll statistic, not an asking price, appraisal or median sale price. Assessment years are identified in the sources.
- Annual Tax Illustration
- The published residential rate applied to the town's median single-family assessment, including the recorded community preservation surcharge and its general first-value exemption where adopted. Individual exemptions, special assessments and a future reassessment can change an actual bill.
- Residents Working in Town
- Share of resident workers with jobs in the same municipality in federal employment origin-destination records. This is a dated employment pattern, not a measure of remote-working suitability.
- Median Year Built
- Middle recorded construction year of single-family homes in the assessment data. It describes building age, not renovation date, condition, lead status or energy performance.
Cite: RE413. “Local Figures for This Decision.” Updated September 19, 2026. https://www.re413.com/news/greenfield-vs-montague-ma/, underlying sources at https://www.re413.com/sources/.
Greenfield's town record. Single-family assessment: $264,600. Annual tax illustration: $4,963. Residents working in town: 27.8%. Median year built: 1940.
Montague's town record. Single-family assessment: $302,800. Annual tax illustration: $4,581. Residents working in town: 15.1%. Median year built: 1954.
How has the published average tax bill changed?
This is the Department of Revenue's published average single-family tax-bill series in nominal dollars. It is a different measure from the current median-assessment illustration above. Changes can reflect the tax levy, assessed values and the housing stock; this is not a forecast of the bill for a home you buy.
Published Average Single-Family Tax Bill
GreenfieldMontague
Greenfield$6,063Montague$4,928Fiscal 2026; common reporting years
What should you check next?
- Match listings with the correct municipal property record and current tax bill.
- Test the actual work route and investigate employment separately from the town's recorded work patterns.
- Compare system condition, early repair estimates and cash remaining after closing for similar properties.
Keep the address, document date and source alongside each answer. If records disagree, identify which period and property each describes before treating the difference as a change. A missing result leaves a question open; it does not establish that a property has no problem or no cost.
Where can you continue the comparison?
Browse all housing guides by subject.
Open the linked town records for the wider context, including sources and dates. Use the property-specific records to narrow a decision, and keep current quotes separate from the historical figures used to explain it here.
Which official guidance supports this article?
- Massachusetts Department of Revenue: determining property values. Guidance checked 2026-09-05; confirm current requirements for your transaction.
Sources
- MassGIS and municipal assessors. single-family assessment, annual tax illustration, median year built. Figures through Greenfield: FY2025; Montague: FY2026. Checked 2026-08-21.
- Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Division of Local Services. annual tax illustration. Figures through Greenfield: FY2026; Montague: FY2026. Checked 2026-08-05.
- Massachusetts Department of Revenue, community preservation records. annual tax illustration. Checked 2026-08-05.
- U.S. Census Bureau, employment origin-destination records. residents working in town. Figures through 2022. Checked 2026-08-05.
- Massachusetts Department of Revenue, historical average single-family tax bills. Published annual mean bills in the chart; nominal dollars, with only common reporting years in a two-town comparison. Figures through FY2010–FY2026. Checked 2026-08-05.
"Figures through" is the period the publisher's data describes; "checked" is only when we last asked. The full sourcing: sources and method.