Living in Truro, Massachusetts: homes, schools and costs

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 moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Truro to say.
A safer neighborhood7 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.8 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 10 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Nauset Regional High, about 12 miles away.
A hospital close byCape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, about 27 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityBoston is about 54 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 Truro 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

Tourist town. About 68% 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: $888,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 22%Barnstable County, 2022 to 2025
Homes owned by the people living in them: 84%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $3,997 a yearMassachusetts: $5,992
Homes built before 1940: 14%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 68%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 Truro 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: 2,4832020: 2,431
Median age: 64.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 46%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 10%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 0%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 (19%); finance, insurance and real estate (18%)
Unemployment rate: 0%U.S.: 5%
Below the poverty line: 4%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Cape Cod Hospital, Hyannis, MA, about 27 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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

1 public school in Truro, run by Truro. The nearest public high school is Nauset Regional High, about 12 miles away.

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 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: 26°F
July average high: 79°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 1 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 92 a year
Rain and melted snow: 45.9 inches a year
Snow: 24 inches a year
Elevation: 130 feet

Weather stations: Chatham Muni Ap (23 miles away) and Chatham (25 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

Cape Cod HospitalEmergency room27

Barnstable, MACity of 50,00029

Boston, MAMetro of 5 million54

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: Cape Cod Hospital, Barnstable, Boston.

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

6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the First Congregational Parish Historic District and the Truro Highlands Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Cape Cod National Seashoreright here
Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area45 miles
Adams National Historical Park51 miles
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park51 miles
Salem Maritime National Historical Park55 miles

Read about Truro's history on Wikipedia.

Know Truro?

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

Wellfleet, MA3,700 people, 7 miles
Provincetown, MA3,700 people, 7 miles
Eastham, MA5,800 people, 12 miles
Orleans, MA6,500 people, 18 miles
Brewster, MA10,500 people, 18 miles
Dennis, MA14,900 people, 22 miles

Sources

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.