232,570 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.0% since 2020)
394 square miles of land · 590 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
30 active community water systems list Barnstable County in the area they serve, reporting 606,315 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| FALMOUTH WATER DEPT surface water · local government · MA4096000 | 97,551 served |
| DENNIS WATER DISTRICT groundwater · local government · MA4075000 | 65,000 served |
| UPPER CAPE REGIONAL WATER COOPERATIVE groundwater · local government · MA4261024 | 56,250 served |
| CENTERVILLE OSTERVILLE MARSTONS MILLS WD groundwater · local government · MA4020002 | 50,000 served |
| HARWICH WATER DEPARTMENT groundwater · local government · MA4126000 | 39,144 served |
| YARMOUTH WATER DEPARTMENT groundwater · local government · MA4351000 | 38,900 served |
| MASHPEE WATER DISTRICT groundwater · local government · MA4172039 | 36,922 served |
| HYANNIS WATER SYSTEM, TOWN OF BARNSTABLE groundwater · local government · MA4020004 | 35,000 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 270 people were held in Barnstable County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2025). In 2020 it was about 174.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
16 school districts have their office in Barnstable County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $126.6 million — $119.3 million to run schools, about $24,462 per student, plus $2.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $68.4 million local (mostly property tax), $34 million state, $9.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $24.9 million.
Spent $90.8 million — $83.6 million to run schools, about $27,846 per student, plus $4.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $58.4 million local (mostly property tax), $19.4 million state, $3.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $19.8 million.
Spent $84.6 million — $79.3 million to run schools, about $27,434 per student, plus $76,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $61.1 million local (mostly property tax), $38.5 million state, $5.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $47.7 million.
Spent $65.8 million — $62.6 million to run schools, about $28,868 per student, plus $1.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $40.5 million local (mostly property tax), $14.7 million state, $3.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $2.4 million.
Spent $49.6 million — $47.4 million to run schools, about $26,609 per student, plus $364,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $39.5 million local (mostly property tax), $9.8 million state, $2.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $24.4 million.
Spent $46.3 million — $42.6 million to run schools, about $27,146 per student, plus $549,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $26.6 million local (mostly property tax), $12 million state, $2.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $19.2 million.
Spent $44.3 million — $41 million to run schools, about $28,093 per student, plus $1.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $28 million local (mostly property tax), $8.8 million state, $2.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $3.7 million.
Spent $42.2 million — $40.7 million to run schools, about $30,661 per student, plus $199,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $31.8 million local (mostly property tax), $11.2 million state, $2.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $2.5 million.
And 8 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Barnstable County about $82.3 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
107 bridges in Barnstable County: 35 in good condition, 68 fair, and 4 poor (3.7%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| MA ROUTE 28 over CAPE COD CANAL · built 1935 | 44,240 vehicles a day |
| ST 28 NB over ST151 NATHAN ELLIS HWY · built 1960 | 18,620 vehicles a day |
| ST 28 MAIN ST over WATER BASS RIVER · built 1935 | 15,407 vehicles a day |
| HWY BRIDGE ST over WATER WEST-NORTH BAY · built 1946 | 2,692 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $337.4 million of work in Barnstable County in fiscal 2025, about $1,473 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
State election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Early voting: 2026-10-17 to 2026-10-30. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-24. Mail ballot request deadline: 2026-10-27. Election Day: 2026-11-03. Last day for mailed ballots to arrive: 2026-11-06.
Source: Secretary of the Commonwealth, 2026 Information for Voters, p. 4 · Cambridge Election Commission, 2026 State Election guide (return deadlines) · Mass. General Laws ch. 54, sec. 93
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Barnstable County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Barnstable County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Massachusetts: the state government and every county in Massachusetts.
Nearby counties: Nantucket County (29 mi) · Plymouth County (35 mi) · Dukes County (36 mi) · Bristol County (48 mi) · Bristol County, RI (58 mi) · Newport County, RI (59 mi).