Best Places02649, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 02649, 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.
02649 ranks 5,292nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 02649
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.
02649's strengths and weaknesses
Where 02649 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 02649 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 18% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 02649
A household needs to earn about $149,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 02649 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $100,482, 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 02649's effective rate of 0.67%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 02649
02649 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 02649.
Who works in 02649, and how
Work in 02649 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 02649
02649 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 73% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 88% of zip codes. The coast is about 6 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 02649 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 02649, month by month
02649 sees roughly 99 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 02649
The nearest airport, Cape Cod Gateway, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 58 miles away.
The best schools in and around 02649
Schools across 02649 average an A−, better than 80% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Quashnet SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- East Falmouth ElementaryC · 35% proficient
- Centerville ElementaryC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Sandwich Middle High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
- Mashpee Middle-high SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Barnstable HighC+ · 36% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 02649 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
02649 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 02649 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 02649
Is 02649 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 02649 ranks 5,292nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, low crime, and tree cover, 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 02649 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $582,153. The overall cost of living runs about 11% above the national average. Set against a $100,482 median income, cost of living beats 70% of zip codes.
Is 02649 safe?
Yes, 02649 is safer than 94% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $167 per resident a year.
Compare 02649 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 02649. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 02649 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.
02649 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 02649: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 02649: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 02649: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 02649: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
02649 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.