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Pittsfield

Pittsfield, Massachusetts
City
Park Square in downtown Pittsfield in 2014
Park Square in downtown Pittsfield in 2014
Official seal of Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Seal
Nickname(s): "The Shire City"
Motto: "Benigno Numine" (Latin)
"Benign Power"
Location in Berkshire County and the state of Massachusetts.
Location in Berkshire County and the state of Massachusetts.
Pittsfield, Massachusetts is located in the US
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Location in the United States
Coordinates: 42°27′N 73°15′W / 42.450°N 73.250°W / 42.450; -73.250Coordinates: 42°27′N 73°15′W / 42.450°N 73.250°W / 42.450; -73.250
Country United States
State Massachusetts
County Berkshire
Settled 1752
Incorporated 1761
Government
 • Type Mayor-council city
 • Mayor Linda Tyer (D)
Area
 • Total 42.5 sq mi (110.0 km2)
 • Land 40.5 sq mi (104.8 km2)
 • Water 2.0 sq mi (5.2 km2)
Elevation 1,039 ft (317 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 44,737
 • Density 1,105/sq mi (426.8/km2)
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 01201
Area code(s) 413
FIPS code 25-53960
GNIS feature ID 0607643
Website www.pittsfield-ma.org

Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County,Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. The population was 44,737 at the 2010 census. Although the population has declined in recent decades, Pittsfield remains the third largest municipality in western Massachusetts, behind only Springfield and Chicopee.

In 2005, Farmers Insurance ranked Pittsfield 20th in the United States as "Most Secure Place To Live" among small towns with fewer than 150,000 residents. In 2006, Forbes ranked Pittsfield as number 61 in its list of Best Small Places for Business. In 2008, Country Home magazine ranked Pittsfield as #24 in a listing of "green cities" east of the Mississippi. In 2009, the City of Pittsfield was chosen to receive a 2009 Commonwealth Award, Massachusetts' highest award in the arts, humanities, and sciences. In 2010, the Financial Times proclaimed Pittsfield the "Brooklyn of the Berkshires", in an article covering its recent renaissance.

In 2012, the city was listed among the 10 best places for single people to retire in the U.S. by U.S. News, due to the high number of single older residents and higher likelihood of finding companionship or a partner.

The Mahican (Muh-hi-kann) Native American nation, an Algonquian people, inhabited Pittsfield and the surrounding area until the early 1700s, when, the population greatly reduced by war and disease, many migrated westward or lived quietly on the fringes of society.


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