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Provincetown, MA

This is a small community in a single neighborhood. As throughout the site, some neighborhood-level data are reserved for subscribers.





Overview


Provincetown is a very small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 3,723 people and just one neighborhood, Provincetown is the 274th largest community in Massachusetts. Much of the housing stock in Provincetown was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic towns in the country.

Provincetown home prices are not only among the most expensive in Massachusetts, but Provincetown real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Occupations and Workforce

Provincetown is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 85.63% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Provincetown is a town of professionals, managers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Provincetown who work in management occupations (15.44%), food service (11.68%), and art, media, and design (9.19%).

Of important note, Provincetown is also a town of artists. Provincetown has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Provincetown’s character.

And if you like science, one thing you'll find is that Provincetown has lots of scientists living in town - whether they be life scientists, physical scientists (like astronomers), or social scientists (like geographers!). So, if you're scientific-minded, you might like it here too.

Also of interest is that Provincetown has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

A relatively large number of people in Provincetown telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 36.37% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Setting & Lifestyle

Another notable thing is that Provincetown is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the town experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller town.

Provincetown is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Provincetown spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 16.49 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the town are less than they would otherwise be.

Demographics

Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to Provincetown, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Provincetown is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 61.70% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 21.84%.

The per capita income in Provincetown in 2018 was $86,915, which is wealthy relative to Massachusetts and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $347,660 for a family of four. However, Provincetown contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Provincetown is a very ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Provincetown home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Provincetown residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Provincetown also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 11.54% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Provincetown include Irish, English, Italian, Portuguese, and German.

The most common language spoken in Provincetown is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Portuguese.

Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics

Many things matter about a neighborhood, but the first thing most people notice is the way a neighborhood looks and its particular character. For example, one might notice whether the buildings all date from a certain time period or whether shop signs are in multiple languages. This particular neighborhood in Provincetown, the neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.

Real Estate

Do you like a coastal setting? If so, this neighborhood may be to your liking. The neighborhood is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Often such coastal places have amenities and recreational activities on the waterfront that are attractive to residents and visitors alike. In addition to being coastal, is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of.

In addition, vacant homes and apartments are a significant characteristic of this neighborhood. In fact, with 59.3% of the residential real estate vacant, the neighborhood claims the distinction of having a higher vacancy rate than 99.3% of the neighborhoods in America. This can either be because much of the property is seasonally occupied, like in many vacation areas, or that much of the real estate is more permanently abandoned.

Furthermore, three-deckers, duplexes, old Victorian homes cut up into apartments. Independent stores on the corner selling pizza. These are some of the hallmarks of neighborhoods with lots of small 2, 3, and 4 unit apartment buildings. The neighborhood really stands out in this regard, however, as it is dominated by such small apartment buildings more than nearly any other neighborhood in America. This is a stunning visual and lifestyle example of this type of neighborhood. In fact, 36.2% of the real estate here are small 2, 3, or 4 unit apartment buildings, which is a higher proportion than found in 96.3% of America's neighborhoods.

People

The first thing that you'll notice if you moved to this neighborhood is that an astounding 5.7% of the households are same sex couples. According to NeighborhoodScout's analysis, this is a higher proportion of same sex households than in 99.9% of the neighborhoods in America. This is one indicator that this neighborhood is likely a gay-friendly neighborhood. So if you are looking for such a neighborhood, the neighborhood should definitely be on your list of places to consider.

In addition, if you are planning to retire in Massachusetts, this neighborhood should be on your must-see list. For many reasons, may be considered a retiree's dream neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and metrics, it's peaceful and quiet, has above average safety from crime compared to other neighborhoods in Massachusetts, while also offering a diverse range of housing options. This, along with the vibrant mix of very educated seniors and other age groups who choose to live here, makes the neighborhood more retiree-friendly than 98.5% of neighborhoods in MA. If a Massachusetts retirement is in your future, this neighborhood should be one of the places you visit. In addition to being an excellent choice for active retirees, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for urban sophisticates.

Modes of Transportation

If your dream is to be able to ride your bike to work each day, look no further than this unique neighborhood. With 9.6% of residents in the neighborhood commuting on a bicycle to and from work daily, this neighborhood has more bicycle commuters than 99.6% of all neighborhoods in the U.S., according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis.

Also, in the neighborhood, many people's commute means walking from the bedroom to the home office. NeighborhoodScout's analysis found that 36.4% of residents worked from home. This may not seem like a large number, but Scout's research shows that this is a higher percentage of people working from home than 99.1% of the neighborhoods in America. Often people who work from home are engaged in the creative or technological economy, such as is found in areas around Boston, and in Silicon Valley. Other times, people may be engaged in other businesses like trading stocks from home, or running a small beauty salon.

Finally, in the neighborhood, walking to work is a real option for many. In fact, NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research reveals walking to and from work is the chosen way to commute for 15.7% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 97.3% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!

Length of Commute

Regardless of the means by which residents commute, this neighborhood has a length of commute that is notable. Residents of the neighborhood have the pleasure of having one of the shortest commutes to work of any neighborhood in America. 72.1% of the residents have a commute time from home to work (one way) of less than fifteen minutes. This is a higher proportion of residents enjoying a short trip to work than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.8% of U.S. neighborhoods. Less time commuting means more time for other things in life.

Diversity

Did you know that the neighborhood has more Portuguese and Russian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 5.8% of this neighborhood's residents have Portuguese ancestry and 4.7% have Russian ancestry.

is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 4.1% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Portuguese at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 99.0% of the neighborhoods in America.

The Neighbors

How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.

The neighbors in the neighborhood in Provincetown are upper-middle income, making it an above average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 69.8% of the neighborhoods in America. With 51.4% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 94.5% of U.S. neighborhoods.

A neighborhood is far different if it is dominated by enlisted military personnel rather than people who earn their living by farming. It is also different if most of the neighbors are clerical support or managers. What is wonderful is the sheer diversity of neighborhoods, allowing you to find the type that fits your lifestyle and aspirations.

In the neighborhood, 53.6% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants, with 23.4% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (14.4%), and 8.7% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.

Languages

The languages spoken by people in this neighborhood are diverse. These are tabulated as the languages people preferentially speak when they are at home with their families. The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 89.9% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Portuguese.

Ethnicity / Ancestry

Culture is shared learned behavior. We learn it from our parents, their parents, our houses of worship, and much of our culture – our learned behavior – comes from our ancestors. That is why ancestry and ethnicity can be so interesting and important to understand: places with concentrations of people of one or more ancestries often express those shared learned behaviors and this gives each neighborhood its own culture. Even different neighborhoods in the same city can have drastically different cultures.

In the neighborhood in Provincetown, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (22.3%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (14.4%), and residents who report Italian roots (10.2%), and some of the residents are also of Portuguese ancestry (5.8%), along with some German ancestry residents (5.0%), among others. In addition, 10.1% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.

Getting to Work

Even if your neighborhood is walkable, you may still have to drive to your place of work. Some neighborhoods are located where many can get to work in just a few minutes, while others are located such that most residents have a long and arduous commute. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (72.1% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.

Here most residents (25.9%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also hop out the door and walk to work to get to work (15.7%) and 10.5% of residents also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors for their daily commute. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.


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Migration & Mobility
Race & Ethnic Diversity
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