Best Places02645, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 02645, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
02645 ranks 5,139th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 02645
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
02645's strengths and weaknesses
Where 02645 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 02645 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,514 a month, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 27% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 02645
A household needs to earn about $166,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 02645 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $101,480, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 02645's effective rate of 0.64%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 02645
02645 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 02645.
Who works in 02645, and how
Work in 02645 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 02645
The coast is about 5 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 02645, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 02645, month by month
02645 sees roughly 105 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 35° | 27° |
| April | 56° | 47° | 39° |
| July | 82° | 73° | 65° |
| October | 66° | 58° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 02645
The nearest airport, Cape Cod Gateway, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 67 miles away.
The best schools in and around 02645
Schools across 02645 average a B+, better than 70% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Orleans ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Chatham Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Eddy ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Monomoy Regional Middle SchoolA− · 52% proficient
- Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter SchoolB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Monomoy Regional High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Cape Cod Region Vocational TechnicalC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 02645 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
02645 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 02645 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 02645
Is 02645 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 02645 ranks 5,139th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, health care access, and low crime, and lowest on an overheated housing market and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 02645 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $649,728. The overall cost of living runs about 20% above the national average. Set against a $101,480 median income, cost of living beats 58% of zip codes.
Is 02645 safe?
Yes, 02645 is safer than 98% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $128 per resident a year.
Compare 02645 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 02645. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 02645 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
02645 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 02645: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 02645: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 02645: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 02645: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
02645 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.