What is the cost of living in Barnstable Town?

Barnstable Town has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 98.4, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 90.0, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $2,422/month.

What is the median salary in Barnstable Town?

The median salary in Barnstable Town is $76,307 annually (mean: $80,017). Top occupations include Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers, Waiters and Waitresses.

How safe is Barnstable Town?

The violent crime rate in the Barnstable Town area is 309 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1101 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Barnstable Town?

The state of MA has 1,831 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 12.3:1. Charter schools make up 4.2% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Barnstable Town?

Infant center-based childcare in the Barnstable Town area averages $20,571 per year. Preschool averages $14,656/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Barnstable Town a good place to relocate?

Barnstable Town has a Life Score of 35.9/100 (F), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This places Barnstable Town in the bottom decile of scored metros; compare individual dimensions to see where the biggest gaps are.

Where does Barnstable Town sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Barnstable Town ranks #97 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Barnstable Town, MA

LiveAbility 56.5/100 places Barnstable Town #97 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

98.4
Cost index (US=100): $2,422
2BR rent / mo: $76,307
Median salary: 56.5
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Barnstable Town ranks #97 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (56.5/100), with its strongest marks in schools and job market.

#97
of 387 US metros · Above median: 7,136,171
metro-area population: 309
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,831
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: housing (4/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Barnstable Town ranks #97 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 98.4 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $2,422/mo, median salary $76,307; LiveAbility Score 56.5/100, strongest in schools and job market.

Signature: LiveAbility 56.5/100 places Barnstable Town #97 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 98.4 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $2,422/mo.

LiveAbility 56.5/100 puts Barnstable Town in the top third (#97 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Barnstable Town area is 87,090.

Barnstable Town vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

57 Top 26% higher than 74% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Barnstable Town housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Barnstable Town MSA; housing RPP 90.0 (100 = national average); 2BR $2,422/mo.

Studio

$1,834

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,846

/month

2 Bedroom

$2,422

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,985

/month

4 Bedroom

$3,428

/month

Barnstable Town wages and employment

Barnstable Town posts 87,090 total employment with median salary $76,307 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$76,307

Mean Salary

$80,017

Total Employment

87,090

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Retail Salespersons	$36,790
General and Operations Managers	$100,590
Waiters and Waitresses	$38,380
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$36,100
Cashiers	$36,640

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Barnstable Town area from NCES.

Schools

1,831

Enrollment

918,103

Student:Teacher

12.3:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Barnstable Town area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$20,571

per year

Toddler (Center)

$18,516

per year

Preschool (Center)

$14,656

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Barnstable Town's composite Life Score is 35.9/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

27/100

Weak

Wages

92/100

Elite

Rent

4/100

Bottom decile

Crime

52/100

Average

Schools

7/100

Bottom decile

Childcare

1/100

Bottom decile

Environment

29/100

Weak

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Barnstable Town ranks #97 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 56.5/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Schools (93/100)

Schools

93
Job market

92
Air quality

90
Low hazard

90
Safety

52
Cost of living

27
Climate

24
Housing

4

What this shows Barnstable Town's strongest dimensions are schools and job market; its weakest among scored dims is housing at 4/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Barnstable Town to

Utica-Rome Valdosta Vallejo Victoria Vineland Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk

Metros near Barnstable Town on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Barnstable Town on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Barnstable Town cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Barnstable Town wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Barnstable Town?

Barnstable Town runs a $76,307 median salary at a 98.4 cost index, ranking #97 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Barnstable Town's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Barnstable Town head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Barnstable Town
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.