Hadley's transformation from an old agricultural order to the new form is the direct result of expansion of the nearby University of Massachusetts Amherst during the 1960s. Much of its former farmland was swallowed in the housing market stimulated by incoming faculty and off-campus students. Route 116 was redirected in an attempt to solve traffic congestion. The central Route 9 became a hotpoint for commercial development, and large corporations such as Stop & Shop and McDonald's moved in.

To this day, the Hadley economy is a mixture of agriculture and sprawl. Recently announced development includes a Wal-Mart Supercenter, a Home Depot and a Lowe's, plus more than a dozen other stores. Residents recently passed a limit on retail store size at 75,000 square feet (7,000 m2), but it will not affect these large projects. In 2003, an organization called Hadley Neighbors for Sensible Development[2] was formed that has opposed continued large scale commercial development in Hadley by emphasizing the down side of such growth. However many local residents support commercial development and about 1,000 people signed a petition asking for a new Wal-Mart saying it would save them money on their groceries.In 2008 a small F1 tornado touched down but did not cause much damage and no lives were lost thanks to local radio stations and news stations.

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