The Town of West Springfield (familiarly known as "West Side") is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is considered a suburb of Springfield, Massachusetts. The population was 27,899 at the 2000 census.

History

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Settlers from Springfield, Massachusetts first moved to the west side of the Connecticut River between 1654 and 1659. In 1696 the settlers on the west side of the river, after years of having to cross the river by boat in order to attend church on Sundays, received permission from the Massachusetts General Court to be incorporated as a new parish of Springfield and to procure their own minister.

The population on the west side of the Connecticut River grew rapidly and on February 23, 1774, the land which now contains the present day communities of West Springfield, Agawam and Holyoke was incorporated as West Springfield.

Geography

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According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 45.4 km² (17.5 mi²). 43.4 km² (16.8 mi²) of it is land and 2.0 km² (0.8 mi²) of it (4.50%) is water. It is on the west side of the Connecticut River, across from Springfield, and on the north side of the Westfield River, above Agawam.

Demographics

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As of the census of 2000, there were 27,899 people, 11,823 households, and 7,117 families residing in the city. The population density was 643.1/km² (1,665.7/mi²). There were 12,259 housing units at an average density of 282.6/km² (731.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.68% White, 2.05% African American, 0.22% Native American, 1.97% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.94% from other races, and 2.10% from two or more races. 5.75% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 11,823 households out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 34.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.4% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,266, and the median income for a family was $50,282. Males had a median income of $38,082 versus $28,079 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,982. About 8.7% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

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West Springfield is the home of The Big E, an...