Best PlacesBarnstable County, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Barnstable County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Barnstable County ranks 305th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $101,622, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are an overheated housing market, childcare costs, and empty homes.
The best neighborhoods in Barnstable County
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.
The best areas in Barnstable County
The parts of Barnstable County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Forestdale & Pocasset
Fewer homes sit empty, local pay stretches further, and incomes run higher.
East Sandwich, Provincetown & Dennis
More adults hold degrees, though fewer households have young kids.
Brewster, Orleans & Eastham
More residents vote, though homes cost more.
East Falmouth, Mashpee & West Falmouth
Schools score higher.
Buzzards Bay, Sandwich & Sagamore Beach
It is noisier.
Centerville, South Yarmouth & Marstons Mills
Northwest Harwich, Dennis Port & South Dennis
Tree cover is thinner.
Barnstable Town, Cotuit & Osterville
Streets are more walkable, though crime runs higher.
Barnstable County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 14% of the country and others in the top 2%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Barnstable County's strengths and weaknesses
Barnstable County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Health care access is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Low crime and fast internet follow.
The one real hole is an overheated housing market, near the bottom of the country. Childcare costs and empty homes also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Barnstable County ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 96% of counties
Where Barnstable County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,514 a month, better than only 2% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 22% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Barnstable County
A household needs to earn about $169,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Barnstable County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $101,622, 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 Barnstable County's effective rate of 0.69%, 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 Barnstable County
Barnstable County 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 Barnstable County.
Who works in Barnstable County, and how
Work in Barnstable County 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 76%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Barnstable County
Barnstable County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of counties and more parkland per resident than 74% of counties. The coast is about 4 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Barnstable County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Barnstable County growing, and who is moving in?
Barnstable County has grown about 8% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Boston, MA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Barnstable County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Barnstable County, month by month
Barnstable County sees roughly 96 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 Barnstable County
The nearest airport, Cape Cod Gateway, is about 3 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 Barnstable County
Schools across Barnstable County average a B, better than 75% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- North Falmouth ElementaryA · 70% proficient
- Orleans ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Eastham ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Morse Pond SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Monomoy Regional Middle SchoolA− · 52% proficient
- Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter SchoolB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Duxbury HighA+ · 86% proficient
- Sturgis Charter Public SchoolA+ · 86% proficient
- Nauset Regional HighA · 78% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Barnstable County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Barnstable County 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 Barnstable County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Barnstable County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 74% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 17% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 57% of counties and health care access beats 100%.
Common questions about living in Barnstable County
Is Barnstable County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Barnstable County ranks 305th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on health care access, low crime, and fast internet, 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 Barnstable County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $657,536. The overall cost of living runs about 17% above the national average. Set against a $101,622 median income, cost of living beats 74% of counties.
Is Barnstable County safe?
Yes, Barnstable County is safer than 99% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $183 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Barnstable County?
July highs average about 80 degrees, and January highs near 40 with lows near 25. That works out to about 96 pleasant days a year, more than 57% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Barnstable County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Forestdale & Pocasset, East Sandwich, Provincetown & Dennis, and Brewster, Orleans & Eastham. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Barnstable County good for families?
Schools beat 75% of counties, crime safety beats 99%, and childcare runs $1,514 a month.
Is Barnstable County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 74% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 99% of counties. About 17% of workers already work from home.
Compare Barnstable County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Barnstable County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Barnstable County 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.
Barnstable County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Barnstable County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Barnstable County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Barnstable County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Barnstable County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Barnstable County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.