South Amherst is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.

[2] It is bordered to the north by Amherst Center and to the west by the Hadley town line.

[1] The original village of South Amherst is near the eastern edge of the CDP, at the junction of Shays Street, South East Street, and Station Road.

At the 2000 census,[5] there were 5,039 people, 1,500 households and 870 families residing in the CDP.

18.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.