South Hadley is a separate municipality from Hadley, so begin with the correct address and public record. That distinction matters for tax assumptions, municipal contacts and property services. Once the location is established, a useful housing search compares the whole routine around the home, including recurring bills and the specific destinations the household needs to reach.
Which connection questions should you ask first?
Confirm the actual water supply, wastewater system and heating arrangement. A community water system appearing in the town record does not prove that every house is connected or that every connection has the same responsibilities. Ask for current bills and any relevant maintenance documentation. If a property has private equipment, establish who services it and whether a recent inspection or test is available. Keep the expense of ordinary consumption separate from the cost of repairing the system itself.
How do you compare the daily route?
Use exact addresses and realistic departure times. The mean commute below averages trips to many destinations, so it cannot predict the trip from a South Hadley home to a chosen workplace. Check regular errands as well as work, and include the household's return trips. If a route crosses a river or depends on a particular connection, test the actual path rather than relying on straight-line distance. A nearby map point may still involve a different travel pattern.
What do Granby and Holyoke add to the search?
They provide contrasting municipal records for readers considering those addresses. Hold property size, type and condition constant as far as possible, then compare actual tax bills and service obligations. The town medians describe the housing stock and should not be read as the asking price for a house available today. If a lower purchase price comes with more immediate work or different infrastructure, bring those costs into the same worksheet before deciding that the option reduces the household's overall expense.
Massachusetts Department of Revenue: determining property values.
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 | Community Water Recorded | Mean Commute Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granby | $382,300 | $5,677 | Recorded | 23.5 |
| Holyoke | $262,450 | $4,603 | Recorded | 19.4 |
| South Hadley | $366,500 | $4,955 | Recorded | 23 |
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.
- Community Water Recorded
- Whether a community water system is recorded for the municipality. A yes does not show that a particular parcel is connected or eligible for connection; confirm with the provider.
- Mean Commute Minutes
- Survey mean travel time to work for workers who travel to work. This is not a drive-time prediction to a chosen employer, a rush-hour estimate or a promise about a particular route.
Cite: RE413. “Local Figures for This Decision.” Updated September 19, 2026. https://www.re413.com/news/living-in-south-hadley-ma/, underlying sources at https://www.re413.com/sources/.
Granby's town record. Single-family assessment: $382,300. Annual tax illustration: $5,677. Community water recorded: Recorded. Mean commute minutes: 23.5.
Holyoke's town record. Single-family assessment: $262,450. Annual tax illustration: $4,603. Community water recorded: Recorded. Mean commute minutes: 19.4.
South Hadley's town record. Single-family assessment: $366,500. Annual tax illustration: $4,955. Community water recorded: Recorded. Mean commute minutes: 23.
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
$5,639Fiscal 2026; South Hadley
What should you check next?
- Confirm the municipality and address on every tax, service and property document.
- Verify water, wastewater and heating arrangements, including private equipment and available maintenance records.
- Compare the actual travel pattern and complete bills for similar homes in South Hadley, Granby and Holyoke.
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. Figures through Granby: FY2026; Holyoke: FY2026; South Hadley: FY2026. Checked 2026-08-21.
- Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Division of Local Services. annual tax illustration. Figures through Granby: FY2026; Holyoke: FY2026; South Hadley: FY2026. Checked 2026-08-05.
- Massachusetts Department of Revenue, community preservation records. annual tax illustration. Checked 2026-08-05.
- Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, community water systems. community water recorded. Checked 2026-09-07.
- U.S. Census Bureau, commuting survey. mean commute minutes. Figures through 2023. 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.