How The Richest, Poorest Places In MA Voted For Millionaire's Tax

MASSACHUSETTS — The tiny town of Monroe provides perhaps the best example of the slim margin by which Question 1 — the millionaire's tax — passed in this week's election.

Snuggled between the Vermont border and the Deerfield River, Monroe has a population of about 118 people, and is one of the poorest communities in Massachusetts, according to Census data. About 40 of its residents voted in the November election.

Question 1 passed in Monroe by one vote.

Statewide, Question 1, also called the Fair Share Amendment, passed by just three points in an election where voters picked nominally liberal Democratic candidates for the highest offices in the state. A review of voting data shows that many of the richest communities in Massachusetts voted against (by wide margins in some cases) the question, while most of the poorest communities voted for it.

To get an idea of how Question 1 broke down across income lines, here's how the richest and poorest cities and towns in Massachusetts voted either for or against Question 1. The vote totals are from the Associated Press and reflect counts as of Friday, with close to 100 percent of results in. The per-capita income (total earnings divided by the total population) figures are from 2022 state Department of Revenue data.

Top 20 highest per-capita income

Top 10 lowest per-capita income

*Denotes a community with a large university, whose students may lower per-capita income figures