Counties in Massachusetts by annual precipitation
Barnstable County had the highest annual precipitation of 14 counties in 2017, at 53.08 inches. Essex County had the lowest, at 43.94 inches. The median was 47.27 inches and the figure for Massachusetts was 46.82 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
Map of counties, 2017
- Under 45
- 45 to 47
- 47 to 48
- 48 to 49
- 49 and over
All counties, 2017
Full ranking
| Rank | Counties | 2017 | Change on 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barnstable County | 53.08 | +35% |
| 2 | Dukes County | 53.01 | +28% |
| 3 | Nantucket County | 49.34 | +12.1% |
| 4 | Worcester County | 48.49 | +28.6% |
| 5 | Plymouth County | 48.38 | +32.4% |
| 6 | Suffolk County | 47.55 | +32.3% |
| 7 | Bristol County | 47.4 | +24.1% |
| 8 | Norfolk County | 47.14 | +26.8% |
| 9 | Franklin County | 46.52 | +27% |
| 10 | Middlesex County | 45.85 | +31.1% |
| 11 | Hampshire County | 44.72 | +25.9% |
| 12 | Hampden County | 44.65 | +26.2% |
| 13 | Berkshire County | 44.09 | +19.4% |
| 14 | Essex County | 43.94 | +25% |
Other periods
About this ranking
Total precipitation from January to December, in inches: rain plus the water content of snow and other frozen precipitation. NOAA computes it from its climate divisional dataset (nClimDiv): station readings interpolated onto a 5 km grid and averaged over the area.
Values are area averages, not the reading at one weather station. NOAA revises the last two years every month.
Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.
How to cite
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.Citation styles
APA 7
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. (2026). NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties (Counties in Massachusetts by annual precipitation, 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping
MLA 9
NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Massachusetts by annual precipitation, 2017. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 6 Oct. 2026, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/massachusetts-counties?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. 2026. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Counties in Massachusetts by annual precipitation, 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/massachusetts-counties?period=2017.
Harvard
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Massachusetts by annual precipitation, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/massachusetts-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_massachusetts_by_2017,
author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Massachusetts by annual precipitation, 2017}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/massachusetts-counties?period=2017. Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY - DATA
AU - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
TI - NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Massachusetts by annual precipitation, 2017
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
PB - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
DB - Invokely
UR - https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/massachusetts-counties?period=2017
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/massachusetts-counties?period=2017.
N1 - Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
Rank Counties in Massachusetts by annual precipitation using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"precipitation_annual","level":"province","within":"Massachusetts","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=precipitation_annual&level=province&within=Massachusetts&limit=10Questions
Which county has the highest annual precipitation?
Barnstable County, with 53.08 inches in 2017, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?
Essex County, with 43.94 inches in 2017.
Where does this ranking come from?
Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.