Counties in Massachusetts by annual precipitation

Hampden County had the highest annual precipitation of 14 counties in 2018, at 64.16 inches. Nantucket County had the lowest, at 52.79 inches. The median was 61.22 inches and the figure for Massachusetts was 61.03 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

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Highest64.16Hampden County
Lowest52.79Nantucket County
Median61.2214 counties
Massachusetts61.03History

Map of counties, 2018

Barnstable County: 55.6 inchesBerkshire County: 57.96 inchesBristol County: 63.96 inchesDukes County: 56.42 inchesEssex County: 54.7 inchesFranklin County: 63.12 inchesHampden County: 64.16 inchesHampshire County: 63.7 inchesMiddlesex County: 58.02 inchesNantucket County: 52.79 inchesNorfolk County: 63.9 inchesPlymouth County: 63.87 inchesSuffolk County: 59.7 inchesWorcester County: 62.74 inches
  • Under 56
  • 56 to 58
  • 58 to 63
  • 63 to 64
  • 64 and over
inches, 2018. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2018

Hampden County: 64.16 inchesHampden County64.16Bristol County: 63.96 inchesBristol County63.96Norfolk County: 63.9 inchesNorfolk County63.9Plymouth County: 63.87 inchesPlymouth County63.87Hampshire County: 63.7 inchesHampshire County63.7Franklin County: 63.12 inchesFranklin County63.12Worcester County: 62.74 inchesWorcester County62.74Suffolk County: 59.7 inchesSuffolk County59.7Middlesex County: 58.02 inchesMiddlesex County58.02Berkshire County: 57.96 inchesBerkshire County57.96Dukes County: 56.42 inchesDukes County56.42Barnstable County: 55.6 inchesBarnstable County55.6Essex County: 54.7 inchesEssex County54.7Nantucket County: 52.79 inchesNantucket County52.79Hampden County: 64.16 inchesHampden County64.16Bristol County: 63.96 inchesBristol County63.96Norfolk County: 63.9 inchesNorfolk County63.9Plymouth County: 63.87 inchesPlymouth County63.87Hampshire County: 63.7 inchesHampshire County63.7Franklin County: 63.12 inchesFranklin County63.12Worcester County: 62.74 inchesWorcester County62.74Suffolk County: 59.7 inchesSuffolk County59.7Middlesex County: 58.02 inchesMiddlesex County58.02Berkshire County: 57.96 inchesBerkshire County57.96Dukes County: 56.42 inchesDukes County56.42Barnstable County: 55.6 inchesBarnstable County55.6Essex County: 54.7 inchesEssex County54.7Nantucket County: 52.79 inchesNantucket County52.79
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2018
inches
Change on 2017
1Hampden County64.16+43.7%
2Bristol County63.96+34.9%
3Norfolk County63.9+35.6%
4Plymouth County63.87+32%
5Hampshire County63.7+42.4%
6Franklin County63.12+35.7%
7Worcester County62.74+29.4%
8Suffolk County59.7+25.6%
9Middlesex County58.02+26.5%
10Berkshire County57.96+31.5%
11Dukes County56.42+6.4%
12Barnstable County55.6+4.7%
13Essex County54.7+24.5%
14Nantucket County52.79+7%

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

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Massachusetts by annual precipitation, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_massachusetts_by_2018,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Massachusetts by annual precipitation, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/massachusetts-counties?period=2018.
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  - 
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Rank Counties in Massachusetts by annual precipitation using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest annual precipitation?

Hampden County, with 64.16 inches in 2018, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Nantucket County, with 52.79 inches in 2018.

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.

Annual precipitation: other rankings

Counties in Massachusetts: more rankings