Town comparison · Massachusetts

Barnstable vs Falmouth

Cape & Islands · Cape & Islands

Falmouth leads 5–1 on headline livability metrics

Across the six headline livability metrics (schools, safety, walkability, biking, affordability, and commute), Falmouth edges Barnstable 5 to 1. Median home prices are close, within $98k of each other. Falmouth is about 5 minutes closer to Boston by car at peak.

The two towns at a glance

Barnstable

Cape & Islands · pop. 49,831

Barnstable is really seven villages: Hyannis has the ferries and downtown energy, Osterville has the money, and Barnstable village has the courthouse and history. The Cape's county seat is also its most complete town.

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Full Barnstable profile →

Falmouth

Cape & Islands · pop. 33,227

Falmouth is the Cape's most livable town for year-rounders: a real downtown, the Shining Sea Bikeway, multiple distinct villages, and schools that earn a B+ from Niche.

Default fit score

equal weights, 0–100

Full Falmouth profile →

Head-to-head: every metric

	Barnstable	Falmouth
Headline
Livability index	54	57 ✦
Economics
Median home	$719k	$818k ✦
Household income	$92k	$93k
Price ÷ income	7.8×	8.8× ✦
Tax burden	44	46 ✦
Schools & Safety
Schools	75	80 ✦
Safety	74	82 ✦
Getting around
Commute to Boston	70 min ✦	65 min
Walkability	35	38 ✦
Transit	18 ✦	12
Biking	30	42 ✦
Lifestyle
Dining	58	62 ✦
Nightlife	38 ✦	30
Arts & culture	45 ✦	42
Green space	42	45 ✦
Community
Diversity	38 ✦	28
Climate	62	63 ✦
5-yr trend	58	62 ✦

Clay = wins this metric. Direction matters: lower median home and shorter commute are better; everything else, higher is better.

Compare on your terms

These winners are based on a neutral, equal weighting of every metric. Your priorities are not neutral. Open Barnstable vs Falmouth in the interactive atlas to tune schools, walkability, affordability, commute, and seven more dimensions, and watch the verdict change.

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About this comparison

Bay State Atlas ranks 194 Massachusetts towns using public data (Census ACS, MA DESE schools, Walk Score, MA Department of Revenue tax data, and the FBI UCR safety index) normalized to 0–100. Every weight is editable. This page is a static, indexable snapshot. The live tool is faster and lets you customize what counts.