Some counties in Massachusetts have higher shares of seasonal homes than others. In raw numbers, Barnstable County has half of all seasonal homes in Massachusetts.
Dukes County (Martha’s Vineyard) and Nantucket lead all counties with 61% of housing units being seasonal. Barnstable County at 36%. On the other hand Norfolk, Middlesex and Suffolk County have shares between 0.6% and 0.5%. This difference highlights our seasonal destination economy versus year-around urban economy.
Controlling Shares
Between 1940 and 2010, year-round housing stock increased faster than seasonal units, reducing the share of seasonal units from its peak in 1960s at 50% to its present 36%.
Driven mostly by conversion of year-around homes, between 2009 and 2013 Barnstable County’s seasonal units increased from 51,750 to 58,509.
Use the interactive map below to see how Barnstable County compares to other counties in Massachusetts.
- Hover over a circle on the map and data for that county will appear.
- Click the 'Size by' buttons to adjust the size of the circle based on various criteria.
- Circles can be dragged to the scale to gauge their sizes.
Click to Explore!
Despite having a small stake of the state's total housing stock, Cape Cod has almost 50% of the state's seasonal units. But how do seasonal concentrations vary among Cape Cod's towns? Click on the Cape Cod Towns tab next.
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Data source: US Census Bureau
