Best Places02648, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 02648, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
02648 ranks 3,331st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 02648
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.
02648's strengths and weaknesses
Where 02648 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Household income$117,952 median, better than 89% of zip codes
Where 02648 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,514 a month, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 40% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 02648
A household needs to earn about $154,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 02648 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $117,952, 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 02648's effective rate of 0.66%, 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 02648
02648 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 02648.
Who works in 02648, and how
Work in 02648 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 02648
The coast is about 8 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 02648, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 02648, month by month
02648 sees roughly 97 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 80 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 32° | 25° |
| April | 55° | 47° | 39° |
| July | 80° | 73° | 66° |
| October | 63° | 56° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 02648
The nearest airport, Cape Cod Gateway, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 57 miles away.
The best schools in and around 02648
Schools across 02648 average a C+, better than 48% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- West Villages Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Barnstable United Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- West Barnstable ElementaryC− · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Barnstable HighC+ · 36% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 02648 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
02648 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 02648 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 02648
Is 02648 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 02648 ranks 3,331st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, health care access, and tree cover, and lowest on childcare costs and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 02648 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $599,602. The overall cost of living runs about 16% above the national average. Set against a $117,952 median income, cost of living beats 78% of zip codes.
Is 02648 safe?
Yes, 02648 is safer than 100% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $111 per resident a year.
Compare 02648 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 02648. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 02648 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.
02648 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 02648: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 02648: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 02648: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 02648: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
02648 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.