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Massachusetts Living Index

Chatham

Cape & Islands · pop. 6,160

The elbow of the Cape. Chatham is where old Cape Cod money comes to stay: white clapboard, the Chatham Bars Inn, the fish pier, and some of the most dramatic ocean-meets-bay real estate in New England.

Coastal QuietHistoric VillageCoastal Tourist
Livability Index
61
/ 100
Ranks #95 of 194 MA towns

The numbers

Median home
$1.31M
15.4× household income
Household income
$85k
ACS median
Commute to Boston
88 min
peak driving
Population
6,160
5-yr trend 65/100

How Chatham scores

Schools
85
Safety
92
Walkability
48
Transit
10
Biking
28
Dining
68
Nightlife
32
Arts & Culture
52
Green Space
50
Diversity
18
Climate
62

The honest read

Best for
Buyers who want the genuine Cape Cod village experience and can handle a 15x+ price-to-income ratio.
The tradeoff
Income ($85K median) is dramatically out of step with home prices ($1.3M), making this largely a second-home and retiree market.

Compare on your terms

These scores reflect a neutral weighting. Your priorities are not neutral. Open the full atlas to tune schools, walkability, affordability, commute, and seven more dimensions, and see where Chatham lands for you.

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Nearby towns

Bordering and adjacent Massachusetts towns near Chatham.

Orleans
58/100 · $1.04M
Cape & Islands
Brewster
50/100 · $787k
Cape & Islands
Eastham
53/100 · $810k
Cape & Islands
Dennis
52/100 · $663k
Cape & Islands

Popular comparisons

Common head‑to‑heads people search when looking at Chatham.

ChathamvsOrleans
61 · 58livability
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ChathamvsBrewster
61 · 50livability
Side‑by‑side →

Want my honest read on Chatham?

I'm Gary Fikes, a licensed real estate agent at MP Signature Realty and the curator of this site. Tell me what you're looking for and I'll reply personally within 1 business day. No auto-dialer, no spam, no resale.

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