Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Brewster grades B+ overall, 136th of 282 graded towns in Massachusetts. It has 107 miles of trail and 26% conserved land. Residents are healthier than 87% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and it reports less crime per resident than 81% of U.S. towns. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $784K for a typical one and 8.2 times the Barnstable Town metro’s $95K median household income. 39% of residents are 65 or older in Brewster, against 19% in Massachusetts’ towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Brewster's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 94% of U.S. towns. Nickerson State Park, at 2,000 acres with 38 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Brewster beats most towns.
Old Higgins Farm Windmill
Census counts: 1,525 in 1850, a low of 631 in 1910, 10,318 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1660 and 5 maps from 1887 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Brewster is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Brewster. Close and well known come first.
12 mi Ancient siteSS Pendleton
5 mi National SeashoreCape Cod National Seashore3.7M visitors a year
32 mi MuseumPlimoth Patuxet
35 mi LandmarkNational Monument to the Forefathers
22 mi LandmarkPilgrim Monument
10 mi MuseumElephant HouseSS Pendleton: United States Coast Guard, Richard C. Kelsey, Public domain · Cape Cod National Seashore: SeduisantRedux, CC BY 3.0 · Plimoth Patuxet: Tr!sie, CC BY-SA 3.0 · National Monument to the Forefathers: T.S. Custadio aka ToddC4176 at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Pilgrim Monument: Peter Whitlock (Transferred by adavyd/Originally uploaded by Willster3), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Elephant House: Nicole Leigh Martel, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Brewster, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Brewster.
Brewster is a second-home town, reports less crime than Harwich or any other graded neighbor and has cooler summers than nearly all U.S. towns.
107 miles of trail in 68 parks and preserves. Brewster’s trail density is 4.2 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Nickerson State Park | 38 mi | 2,000 |
| 2. Sheep Pond Woodlands | 1.2 mi | 79 |
| 3. Bates Cr | 0.8 mi | 37 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Brewster school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stony Brook ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 242 | – |
| Latham School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 45 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
41.6% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 3.7% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
The median age in Brewster is 59.6 years. 56% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 47% across Massachusetts. 13% of residents are under 18 in Brewster.
| Brewster | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 59.6 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 13% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 56% | 47% | 29% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.7 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Brewster | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.6% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.5% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.9% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 7.6% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.7% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.7% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.4% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 23.8% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 14.8% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.7% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 18.6% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.8% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.3% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.4% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 28.1% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Within Massachusetts it is healthier than 51% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar.
86% of Brewster adults had a checkup this year. Brewster beats the Massachusetts average on 15 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 3.2% of Brewster adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.
| Brewster | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 86% | 82% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 33% | 36% |
| What stands out | Brewster | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 6.5% | 11.1% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.4% | 12.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 14.4% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A− tops all 3 graded towns on its borders; Harwich (A−) comes closest. Violent crime is rare: 8 reported in 2025, 0.8 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The average commute for its 4,121 working residents takes 21 minutes, against 29.1 across Massachusetts.
Most working residents leave Brewster for work: only 15% work in town. The top destinations are Barnstable Town (11%), Orleans (10%) and Boston (7%).
| Brewster | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 20% | 18% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $103,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 75% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 13 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Brewster.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 78.2°, cooler than in 95% of U.S. towns; January nights average 24.2°.
Brewster has chilly winters and pleasant summers. Among 283 Massachusetts towns, just 6 have a lower July high than Brewster. About 25 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Brewster | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 78°F | 83°F | 85°F |
| January low | 24°F | 18°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 8.2 years of the Barnstable Town metro’s $95K median household income, the typical home (about $784K) costs more against local pay than in 83% of Massachusetts towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
The typical Brewster home is worth about $784,000, up 2.3% in a year, 20% above the Massachusetts typical home.
| Brewster | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 85% | 79% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,589 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1 within 15 miles of the center of Brewster
About 3 of every 100 Brewster residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
26.2% of the town is conserved land, across 68 parks and preserves.
5 places in Brewster on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Brewster.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Brewster is a town on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. The population of Brewster was 10,318 at the 2020 census. It contains the census-designated place of the same name. Initially settled in 1659, the Town of Brewster is named after Elder William Brewster, the religious leader of Plymouth Colony. Brewster is known as the "Sea Captain's Town" for its wealth of eighteenth and nineteenth century historic captain's homes, including the Cobb House (1799), the current home of the Brewster Historical Society. Brewster is also notable as the home of Nickerson State Park, a 1,900 acre preserve carved out of the former hunting grounds of the prominent Nickerson Family. The impact of the Nickerson Family c…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Brewster.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Orleans (B+) comes closest. Dennis next door grades lower for schools (C to Brewster’s B) and higher for cost of living (C to D).
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brewster | #136 | B+ | D | A− | B | A |
| Dennis | #219 | C+ | C | B− | C | A− |
| East Dennis | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Orleans | #145 | B+ | D | B | B+ | A |
| Harwich | #155 | B | D | A− | B | A |
| East Harwich | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Northwest Harwich | — | — | — | — | — | — |
East Dennis, East Harwich and Northwest Harwich aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Brewster with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Brewster grades B+ overall, better than 67% of U.S. towns and #136 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A for health, A− for safety and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
3 notable people were born here, including Joseph C. Lincoln and William Lincoln Brown.
