Counties in Massachusetts by annual precipitation

Berkshire County had the highest annual precipitation of 14 counties in 2021, at 57.14 inches. Nantucket County had the lowest, at 39.08 inches. The median was 55.2 inches and the figure for Massachusetts was 54.82 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

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Highest57.14Berkshire County
Lowest39.08Nantucket County
Median55.214 counties
Massachusetts54.82History

Map of counties, 2021

Barnstable County: 48.26 inchesBerkshire County: 57.14 inchesBristol County: 51.78 inchesDukes County: 46.83 inchesEssex County: 56.57 inchesFranklin County: 55.31 inchesHampden County: 56.81 inchesHampshire County: 55.96 inchesMiddlesex County: 55.09 inchesNantucket County: 39.08 inchesNorfolk County: 55.84 inchesPlymouth County: 54.74 inchesSuffolk County: 57.07 inchesWorcester County: 55.08 inches
  • Under 50
  • 50 to 55
  • 55 to 56
  • 56 to 57
  • 57 and over
inches, 2021. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2021

Berkshire County: 57.14 inchesBerkshire County57.14Suffolk County: 57.07 inchesSuffolk County57.07Hampden County: 56.81 inchesHampden County56.81Essex County: 56.57 inchesEssex County56.57Hampshire County: 55.96 inchesHampshire County55.96Norfolk County: 55.84 inchesNorfolk County55.84Franklin County: 55.31 inchesFranklin County55.31Middlesex County: 55.09 inchesMiddlesex County55.09Worcester County: 55.08 inchesWorcester County55.08Plymouth County: 54.74 inchesPlymouth County54.74Bristol County: 51.78 inchesBristol County51.78Barnstable County: 48.26 inchesBarnstable County48.26Dukes County: 46.83 inchesDukes County46.83Nantucket County: 39.08 inchesNantucket County39.08Berkshire County: 57.14 inchesBerkshire County57.14Suffolk County: 57.07 inchesSuffolk County57.07Hampden County: 56.81 inchesHampden County56.81Essex County: 56.57 inchesEssex County56.57Hampshire County: 55.96 inchesHampshire County55.96Norfolk County: 55.84 inchesNorfolk County55.84Franklin County: 55.31 inchesFranklin County55.31Middlesex County: 55.09 inchesMiddlesex County55.09Worcester County: 55.08 inchesWorcester County55.08Plymouth County: 54.74 inchesPlymouth County54.74Bristol County: 51.78 inchesBristol County51.78Barnstable County: 48.26 inchesBarnstable County48.26Dukes County: 46.83 inchesDukes County46.83Nantucket County: 39.08 inchesNantucket County39.08
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021
inches
Change on 2020
1Berkshire County57.14+41.3%
2Suffolk County57.07+29.9%
3Hampden County56.81+32.2%
4Essex County56.57+37.1%
5Hampshire County55.96+29.3%
6Norfolk County55.84+18.7%
7Franklin County55.31+27.4%
8Middlesex County55.09+32.7%
9Worcester County55.08+24.6%
10Plymouth County54.74+29.7%
11Bristol County51.78+22.6%
12Barnstable County48.26+28.8%
13Dukes County46.83+22.5%
14Nantucket County39.08+4.6%

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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Massachusetts by annual precipitation, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_massachusetts_by_2021,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Massachusetts by annual precipitation, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/massachusetts-counties?period=2021.
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?

Berkshire County, with 57.14 inches in 2021, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Nantucket County, with 39.08 inches in 2021.

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