Chatham is a somewhat small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 6,711 people and two associated neighborhoods, Chatham is the 225th largest community in Massachusetts. Chatham home prices are not only among the most expensive in Massachusetts, but Chatham real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.Chatham is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 86.06% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Chatham is a town of professionals, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Chatham who work in management occupations (14.80%), office and administrative support (13.35%), and sales jobs (9.85%). Of important note, Chatham is also a town of artists. Chatham has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Chatham’s character. Also of interest is that Chatham has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 25.46% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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 Chatham is an extremely popular destination for tourists and seasonal residents. So much of the population is seasonal such that the town’s population swells significantly during the vacation season, and drops again when the season ends. Because of this, much of the local economy is centered around tourism; some businesses may be operated only during the high season. During the low season, year-round residents will notice that the city is a substantially quieter place to live. Because of many things, Chatham is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Chatham really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Chatham perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic nightlife, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live. It is a fairly quiet town because there are relatively few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. (Children, for example, often can't help themselves from being noisy, and being parents ourselves, we know!) Chatham has relatively few families with children living at home, and is quieter because of it. Renters and college students, for their own reasons, can also be noisy. Chatham has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Chatham than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Chatham may be for you. One of the nice things about Chatham is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities. Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Chatham. 60.71% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%. The per capita income in Chatham in 2022 was $89,747, which is wealthy relative to Massachusetts and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $358,988 for a family of four. However, Chatham contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. The people who call Chatham home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Chatham residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Chatham include Irish, English, German, Italian, and Scottish. The most common language spoken in Chatham is English. Other important languages spoken here include French Creole and Spanish.
