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Towns / Massachusetts

Mashpee, Massachusetts

Mashpee is a suburb of about 15,500 people in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the Barnstable area. It has grown about 3% since 2020. A typical home costs about 5.9 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Providence, is about 50 miles away as the crow flies.

Tourist townSuburb of Barnstable

Population
15,468
up 2.7% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$562,200
Barnstable County prices up 22% since 2022
Household income
$95,299
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Barnstable Town area
98.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
8 miles
Falmouth, MA
To Providence
50 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 1.6% below the U.S. average in the Barnstable Town metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood27 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.7 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 5.6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 2 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byFalmouth Hospital in Falmouth, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityProvidence is about 50 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Mashpee meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Mashpee runs into the built-up area around Barnstable (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

Tourist town. About 30% of homes are vacation or seasonal homes, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$562,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 22%Barnstable County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,776 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$95,299U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
82%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,762 a yearMassachusetts: $5,992
Homes built before 1940
2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
11%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
30%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
98.4U.S. average = 100 (the Barnstable Town metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 22% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Barnstable Town metro area, not Mashpee alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
15,4682020: 15,068
Median age
55.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
33%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
15%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
44%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
7%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (24%); retail (16%); professional and business services (14%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
27 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
14%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
5%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Falmouth Hospital, Falmouth, MA, about 8 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Mashpee, run by Mashpee.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Massachusetts's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
82%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
95%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
20°F
July average high
77°F
Days 90°F or hotter
0 a year
Nights at or below freezing
122 a year
Rain and melted snow
45.7 inches a year
Snow
22 inches a year
Elevation
65 feet

Weather stations: E Sandwich (7 miles away) and Hyannis (10 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Falmouth Hospital, Barnstable, Providence.

Barnstable County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park22 miles
  • Cape Cod National Seashore26 miles
  • Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area48 miles
  • Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park49 miles
  • Roger Williams National Memorial50 miles

Read about Mashpee's history on Wikipedia.

Know Mashpee?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.