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 3,729 people and just one neighborhood, Provincetown is the 274th largest community in Massachusetts. Provincetown has a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, 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.
Provincetown is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 92.11% 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 (26.72%), food service (14.32%), and computer science and math (10.81%).
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.
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.
Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 31.51% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. 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.
Another notable thing is that Provincetown is a major vacation destination. Much of the town’s population is seasonal: many people own second homes and only live there part-time, during the vacation season. The effect on the local economy is that many of the businesses are dependent on tourist dollars, and may operate only during the high season. As the vacation season ends, Provincetown’s population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much quieter place to live.
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. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.
One of the benefits of Provincetown is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 13.77 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.
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 61.33% 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 2022 was $91,730, which is wealthy relative to Massachusetts and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $366,920 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 Black or African-American. Provincetown also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 13.58% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Provincetown include Irish, English, Italian, Portuguese, and German.
Provincetown also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 19.47%.
The most common language spoken in Provincetown is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Portuguese.
The way a neighborhood looks and feels when you walk or drive around it, from its setting, its buildings, and its flavor, can make all the difference. This neighborhood has some really cool things about the way it looks and feels as revealed by NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.
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 55.9% of the residential real estate vacant, the neighborhood claims the distinction of having a higher vacancy rate than 99.2% 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, 41.4% of the real estate here are small 2, 3, or 4 unit apartment buildings, which is a higher proportion than found in 97.4% of America's neighborhoods.
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.
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. 73.9% 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 99.1% of U.S. neighborhoods. Less time commuting means more time for other things in life.
If your dream is to be able to ride your bike to work each day, look no further than this unique neighborhood. With 6.6% of residents in the neighborhood commuting on a bicycle to and from work daily, this neighborhood has more bicycle commuters than 99.0% of all neighborhoods in the U.S., according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis.
Also, 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 14.1% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 97.0% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Portuguese and South American ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 6.6% of this neighborhood's residents have Portuguese ancestry and 10.0% have South American 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.
There are two complementary measures for understanding the income of a neighborhood's residents: the average and the extremes. While a neighborhood may be relatively wealthy overall, it is equally important to understand the rate of people - particularly children - who are living at or below the federal poverty line, which is extremely low income. Some neighborhoods with a lower average income may actually have a lower childhood poverty rate than another with a higher average income, and this helps us understand the conditions and character of a neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in Provincetown are wealthy, making it among the 15% highest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 89.1% of the neighborhoods in America. With 12.1% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 55.6% of U.S. neighborhoods.
The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.
In the neighborhood, 62.7% 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 26.1% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (7.9%), and 6.1% in government jobs, whether they are in local, state, or federal positions.
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 81.7% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Portuguese.
Boston's Beacon Hill blue-blood streets, Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish enclaves, Los Angeles' Persian neighborhoods. Each has its own culture derived primarily from the ancestries and culture of the residents who call these neighborhoods home. Likewise, each neighborhood in America has its own culture – some more unique than others – based on lifestyle, occupations, the types of households – and importantly – on the ethnicities and ancestries of the people who live in the neighborhood. Understanding where people came from, who their grandparents or great-grandparents were, can help you understand how a neighborhood is today.
In the neighborhood in Provincetown, MA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (19.0%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (18.0%), and residents who report Italian roots (12.3%), and some of the residents are also of South American ancestry (10.0%), along with some Portuguese ancestry residents (6.6%), among others. In addition, 19.5% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
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 (73.9% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (37.6%) 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 (14.1%) and 8.7% 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.