Counties in Massachusetts by annual precipitation

Barnstable County had the highest annual precipitation of 14 counties in 2019, at 58.46 inches. Berkshire County had the lowest, at 49.3 inches. The median was 53.75 inches and the figure for Massachusetts was 52.74 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

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Highest58.46Barnstable County
Median53.7514 counties
Massachusetts52.74History

Map of counties, 2019

Barnstable County: 58.46 inchesBerkshire County: 49.3 inchesBristol County: 54.53 inchesDukes County: 58.19 inchesEssex County: 49.4 inchesFranklin County: 49.7 inchesHampden County: 51.71 inchesHampshire County: 49.8 inchesMiddlesex County: 51.12 inchesNantucket County: 53.79 inchesNorfolk County: 55.62 inchesPlymouth County: 57.79 inchesSuffolk County: 53.72 inchesWorcester County: 53.89 inches
  • Under 50
  • 50 to 52
  • 52 to 54
  • 54 to 56
  • 56 and over
inches, 2019. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2019

Barnstable County: 58.46 inchesBarnstable County58.46Dukes County: 58.19 inchesDukes County58.19Plymouth County: 57.79 inchesPlymouth County57.79Norfolk County: 55.62 inchesNorfolk County55.62Bristol County: 54.53 inchesBristol County54.53Worcester County: 53.89 inchesWorcester County53.89Nantucket County: 53.79 inchesNantucket County53.79Suffolk County: 53.72 inchesSuffolk County53.72Hampden County: 51.71 inchesHampden County51.71Middlesex County: 51.12 inchesMiddlesex County51.12Hampshire County: 49.8 inchesHampshire County49.8Franklin County: 49.7 inchesFranklin County49.7Essex County: 49.4 inchesEssex County49.4Berkshire County: 49.3 inchesBerkshire County49.3Barnstable County: 58.46 inchesBarnstable County58.46Dukes County: 58.19 inchesDukes County58.19Plymouth County: 57.79 inchesPlymouth County57.79Norfolk County: 55.62 inchesNorfolk County55.62Bristol County: 54.53 inchesBristol County54.53Worcester County: 53.89 inchesWorcester County53.89Nantucket County: 53.79 inchesNantucket County53.79Suffolk County: 53.72 inchesSuffolk County53.72Hampden County: 51.71 inchesHampden County51.71Middlesex County: 51.12 inchesMiddlesex County51.12Hampshire County: 49.8 inchesHampshire County49.8Franklin County: 49.7 inchesFranklin County49.7Essex County: 49.4 inchesEssex County49.4Berkshire County: 49.3 inchesBerkshire County49.3
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2019
inches
Change on 2018
1Barnstable County58.46+5.1%
2Dukes County58.19+3.1%
3Plymouth County57.79-9.5%
4Norfolk County55.62-13%
5Bristol County54.53-14.7%
6Worcester County53.89-14.1%
7Nantucket County53.79+1.9%
8Suffolk County53.72-10%
9Hampden County51.71-19.4%
10Middlesex County51.12-11.9%
11Hampshire County49.8-21.8%
12Franklin County49.7-21.3%
13Essex County49.4-9.7%
14Berkshire County49.3-14.9%

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, 2019) [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, 2019. 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=2019. 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, 2019. 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=2019.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Massachusetts by annual precipitation, 2019 [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=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_massachusetts_by_2019,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Massachusetts by annual precipitation, 2019}},
  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=2019. 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, 2019
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=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/massachusetts-counties?period=2019.
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?

Barnstable County, with 58.46 inches in 2019, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Berkshire County, with 49.3 inches in 2019.

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