Massachusetts has 351 municipalities, consisting of 59 cities and 292 towns – 14 of these cities refer to themselves as “towns” despite having a city form of government.

Cities in Massachusetts (Alphabetical List)

• Agawam
• Amesbury
• Amherst
• Amherst Center
• North Amherst
• South Amherst
• Attleboro
• South Attleboro
• Barnstable
• Centerville
• Cotuit
• Hyannis
• Marstons Mills
• Osterville
• West Barnstable
• Beverly
• Beverly Farms
• Boston
• Chestnut Hill (part)
• Braintree
• Bridgewater
• Brockton
• Cambridge
• Chelsea
• Chicopee
• East Longmeadow
• Easthampton
• Everett
• Fall River
• Fitchburg
• Framingham
• Franklin
• Gardner
• Gloucester
• Annisquam
• Greenfield
• Haverhill
• Ayers Village
• Holyoke
• Churchill
• Elmwood
• The Flats
• Highlands
• Highland Park
• Homestead Avenue
• Ingleside
• Jarvis Avenue
• South Holyoke
• Lawrence
• Leominster
• Lowell
• Lynn
• Malden
• Marlborough
• Medford
• Melrose
• Methuen
• New Bedford
• Newburyport
• Newton
• Auburndale
• Chestnut Hill (part)
• Newton Centre
• Newton Corner
• Newton Highlands
• Newton Lower Falls
• Newton Upper Falls
• Newtonville
• Nonantum
• Waban
• West Newton
• North Attleborough
• Adamsdale
• North Attleborough Center
• Northampton
• Florence
• Leeds
• Palmer
• Bondsville
• Peabody
• Pittsfield
• Quincy
• Randolph
• Revere
• Salem
• Somerville
• Southbridge
• Springfield
• Indian Orchard
• Taunton
• East Taunton
• Waltham
• Watertown
• West Springfield
• Westfield
• Wyben
• Weymouth
• Winthrop
• Woburn
• Worcester
• Greendale
• Quinsigamond Village
• Tatnuck
• Vernon Hill

Towns in Massachusetts (Alphabetical List)

• Abington
• Acushnet
• Acushnet Center
• Acton
• Nagog Woods
• South Acton
• Adams
• Alford
• Andover
• Aquinnah
• Arlington
• Ashburnham
• South Ashburnham
• Ashby
• Ashfield
• Ashland
• Athol
• Auburn
• Avon
• Ayer
• Barre
• Becket
• Bedford
• Belchertown
• Chestnut Hill
• Bellingham
• Belmont
• Berkley
• Berlin
• Bernardston
• Billerica
• North Billerica
• Blackstone
• Chestnut Hill
• Blandford
• Bolton
• Bourne
• Buzzards Bay
• Monument Beach
• Boxborough
• Boxford
• Boylston
• Brewster
• Brimfield
• Brookfield
• Brookline
• Chestnut Hill (part)
• Buckland
• Burlington
• Canton
• Carlisle
• Carver
• Charlemont
• Charlton
• Chatham
• Chelmsford
• Cheshire
• Chester
• Chesterfield
• Chilmark
• Menemsha
• Clarksburg
• Clinton
• Cohasset
• Colrain
• Concord
• Conway
• Cummington
• Dalton
• Danvers
• Dartmouth
• Bliss Corner
• Smith Mills
• Dedham
• Deerfield
• South Deerfield
• Dennis
• Dennis Port
• East Dennis
• South Dennis
• West Dennis
• Dighton
• Douglas
• East Douglas
• Dover
• Dracut
• Dudley
• Dunstable
• Duxbury
• Green Harbor (part)
• South Duxbury
• East Bridgewater
• East Brookfield
• Eastham
• Easton
• Edgartown
• Egremont
• Erving
• Essex
• Fairhaven
• Falmouth
• East Falmouth
• North Falmouth
• Teaticket
• West Falmouth
• Woods Hole
• Florida
• Foxborough
• Freetown
• Assonet
• East Freetown
• Georgetown
• Gill
• Goshen
• Gosnold
• Grafton
• Granby
• Granville
• Great Barrington
• Housatonic
• Groton
• Groveland
• Hadley
• Halifax
• Hamilton
• Hampden
• Hancock
• Hanover
• Hanson
• Hardwick
• Harvard
• Harwich
• East Harwich
• Harwich Center
• Harwich Port
• North Harwich
• South Harwich
• West Harwich
• Hatfield
• Hawley
• Heath
• Hingham
• Hinsdale
• Holbrook
• Holden
• Jefferson
• Holland
• Holliston
• Braggville
• Metcalf
• Hopedale
• Hopkinton
• Hubbardston
• Hudson
• Hull
• Huntington
• Ipswich
• Kingston
• Lakeville
• North Lakeville
• Lanesborough
• Berkshire
• Lancaster
• South Lancaster
• Lee
• Leicester
• Lenox
• Leverett
• Lexington
• Lincoln
• Littleton
• Longmeadow
• Ludlow
• Lunenburg
• Lynnfield
• Manchester-by-the-Sea
• Mansfield
• Mansfield Center
• Marblehead
• Marion
• Marion Center
• Marshfield
• Cedar Crest
• Green Harbor (part)
• Marshfield Hills
• Mashpee
• Mashpee Neck
• New Seabury
• Popponesset
• Seabrook
• Mattapoisett
• Mattapoisett Center
• Maynard
• Medfield
• Medway
• Mendon
• Merrimac
• Middleborough
• Middleborough Center
• Middlefield
• Middleton
• Milford
• Millbury
• Millis
• Millville
• Milton
• Monroe
• Monson
• Monson Center
• Montague
• Millers Falls
• Turners Falls
• Montague City
• Montague Center
• Lake Pleasant
• Monterey
• Montgomery
• Mount Washington
• Nahant
• Nantucket
• Natick
• Needham
• New Ashford
• New Braintree
• New Marlborough
• New Salem
• Newbury
• North Andover
• North Brookfield
• North Reading
• Northborough
• Northbridge
• Whitinsville
• Northfield
• Norton
• Chartley
• Norton Center
• Norwell
• Norwood
• Oak Bluffs
• Oakham
• Orange
• Orleans
• Otis
• Oxford
• Paxton
• Pelham
• Pembroke
• North Pembroke
• Pepperell
• Peru
• Petersham
• Phillipston
• Plainfield
• Plainville
• Plymouth
• North Plymouth
• Plympton
• Princeton
• Provincetown
• Raynham
• Raynham Center
• Reading
• Rehoboth
• Richmond
• Rochester
• Rockland
• Rockport
• Rowley
• Royalston
• Russell
• Rutland
• Salisbury
• Sandisfield
• Sandwich
• East Sandwich
• Forestdale
• Saugus
• Savoy
• Scituate
• Greenbush
• Humarock
• Minot
• North Scituate
• Seekonk
• North Seekonk
• Sharon
• Sheffield
• Shelburne
• Shelburne Falls
• Sherborn
• Shirley
• Shrewsbury
• Shutesbury
• Somerset
• South Hadley
• Southborough
• Cordaville
• Southampton
• Southwick
• Spencer
• Sterling
• Stockbridge
• Glendale
• Interlaken
• Stoneham
• Stoughton
• Stow
• Sturbridge
• Fiskdale
• Sudbury
• Sunderland
• Sutton
• Swampscott
• Swansea
• Ocean Grove
• Templeton
• Baldwinville
• East Templeton
• Templeton Center
• Tewksbury
• Tisbury
• Vineyard Haven
• Tolland
• Topsfield
• Townsend
• Townsend Harbor
• Truro
• Tyngsborough
• Tyringham
• Upton
• Uxbridge
• North Uxbridge
• Wakefield
• Wales
• Walpole
• Ware
• Wareham
• Onset
• Wareham Center
• West Wareham
• Weweantic
• White Island Shores
• Warren
• Warwick
• Washington
• Wayland
• Webster
• Wellesley
• Wellfleet
• Wendell
• Wenham
• West Boylston
• West Bridgewater
• West Brookfield
• West Newbury
• West Stockbridge
• West Tisbury
• Westborough
• Westford
• Westminster
• Weston
• Westport
• North Westport
• Westwood
• Whately
• Whitman
• Wilbraham
• Williamsburg
• Haydenville
• Williamstown
• Wilmington
• Winchendon
• Winchester
• Windsor
• Worthington
• Wrentham
• Yarmouth
• South Yarmouth
• West Yarmouth
• Yarmouth Port

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Massachusetts has had a total of 25 unique counties throughout its history, encompassing both past (defunct) and present ones. This figure includes the 14 counties that currently exist as geographical and administrative divisions (though many have had their county governments abolished or reorganized since the late 1990s) and 11 defunct counties that were either abolished, transferred to other states (primarily Maine upon its separation in 1820, or New Hampshire), or otherwise ceased to exist.

Current Counties (14)

These counties continue to exist today, serving roles in areas like judicial districts, registries of deeds, and regional planning, even if some lack traditional county governments.Barnstable: Formed in 1685; retains county government and adopted a modern charter.
Berkshire: Formed in 1761; government abolished in 2000.
Bristol: Formed in 1685; retains county government.
Dukes: Formed in 1695; retains county government and adopted a modern charter.
Essex: Formed in 1643; government abolished in 1999.
Franklin: Formed in 1811; government abolished in 1997 and reorganized as a regional council.
Hampden: Formed in 1812; government abolished in 1998.
Hampshire: Formed in 1662; government abolished in 1999 and reorganized as a regional council.
Middlesex: Formed in 1643; government abolished in 1997.
Nantucket: Formed in 1695; consolidated town-county government.
Norfolk: Formed in 1793; retains county government (distinct from the defunct colonial Norfolk County).
Plymouth: Formed in 1685; retains county government.
Suffolk: Formed in 1643; government abolished in 1999.
Worcester: Formed in 1731; government abolished in 1998.

Defunct Counties (11)

These counties no longer exist within Massachusetts, often due to territorial transfers during colonial reorganizations or state separations.Cumberland: Formed in 1760, abolished in 1820; transferred to Maine.
Devonshire: Formed in 1674, abolished in 1675; abolished and absorbed into the Maine area.
Hancock: Formed in 1789, abolished in 1820; transferred to Maine.
Kennebec: Formed in 1799, abolished in 1820; transferred to Maine.
Lincoln: Formed in 1760, abolished in 1820; transferred to Maine.
Norfolk (Colonial): Formed in 1643, abolished in 1679; abolished, with most territory transferred to New Hampshire and the remainder to Essex County.
Oxford: Formed in 1805, abolished in 1820; transferred to Maine.
Penobscot: Formed in 1816, abolished in 1820; transferred to Maine.
Somerset: Formed in 1809, abolished in 1820; transferred to Maine.
Washington: Formed in 1789, abolished in 1820; transferred to Maine.
York: Formed in 1652, abolished in 1820; transferred to Maine, with temporary abolishments from 1664–1668 and 1680–1691.

Key Historical Context

The earliest counties date back to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1643 (e.g., Essex, Middlesex, Suffolk, and the original Norfolk). Many defunct counties were in areas that became Maine (part of Massachusetts until 1820) or were reallocated during colonial boundary adjustments with New Hampshire. While county governments for 8 of the 14 current counties were abolished between 1997 and 2000 due to financial issues and state takeovers, the counties themselves persist as geographic entities for purposes like census data and historical records. No overlaps exist between the current and defunct lists; the modern Norfolk County (formed 1793) is separate from the colonial version.

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