Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Dennis's standout: it has 53 miles of trail. Overall it grades C+, 219th of 282 graded towns in Massachusetts. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 83% of the country. 40% of residents are 65 or older in Dennis, against 19% in Massachusetts’ towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Josiah Dennis House and West Schoolhouse. Only 4 of the 283 Massachusetts towns we compare have a lower share of children under 18 than Dennis.
Where Dennis beats most towns.
Census counts: 3,257 in 1850, a low of 1,536 in 1920, 14,674 in 2020. The archive holds 30 old photos and papers going back to 1728 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 Dennis is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Dennis. Close and well known come first.
13 mi Ancient siteSS Pendleton
29 mi MuseumPlimoth Patuxet
11 mi National SeashoreCape Cod National Seashore3.7M visitors a year
32 mi LandmarkNational Monument to the Forefathers
24 mi LandmarkPilgrim Monument
4 mi MuseumElephant HouseSS Pendleton: United States Coast Guard, Richard C. Kelsey, Public domain · Plimoth Patuxet: Tr!sie, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cape Cod National Seashore: SeduisantRedux, CC BY 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 Dennis, 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 Dennis.
Dennis has fewer 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns, is safe by national standards but not by Massachusetts’s and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Massachusetts.
The trail density in Dennis is 2.4 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Black Flats Conservation Area, at 229 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Coles Pond At Crowes Pasture Conservation Area | 2.4 mi | 110 |
| 2. Flax Pond Conservation Land | 1.5 mi | 73 |
| 3. Indian Lands | 1.3 mi | 27 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Dennis-Yarmouth school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ezra H Baker Innovation SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 385 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Dennis’ median age is 59.5 years. 44% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 47% across Massachusetts.
| Dennis | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 59.5 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 44% | 47% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.1 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 61.3, men 58.6.
| Dennis | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 4.1% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 4.9% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.5% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 6.8% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.7% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.7% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.5% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 21.3% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 18.5% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.8% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.2% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.3% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.6% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.3% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.8% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Within Massachusetts it is less healthy than 59% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar.
13% of adults binge drink in Dennis. Dennis beats the Massachusetts average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 30% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Dennis.
| Dennis | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 87% | 82% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 32% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Dennis | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 6.9% | 11.1% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.9% | 12.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 14.8% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Hyannis weather station, 8 miles away, records that about 2 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 98% of U.S. towns.
Dennis has chilly winters and pleasant summers. Only 8 of the 283 Massachusetts towns we compare have a lower July high than Dennis.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Dennis for work: only 16% work in town. Jobs based in Dennis grew to 4,198 in 2023, 305 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Barnstable Town (15%), Yarmouth (9%) and Boston (7%).
| Dennis | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $88,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 17% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
200 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 19 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 53% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 200 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Dennis.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median property tax bill is $2,877, against $5,992 across Massachusetts, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Dennis home is worth about $675,000, up 3.9% in a year, close to the Massachusetts typical home.
| Dennis | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,420 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 79% | 79% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 19.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 72% of Massachusetts’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1 within 15 miles of the center of Dennis
About 4 of every 100 Dennis residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
Coastal flooding makes up 18% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
51.5% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, so the town is fuller in summer than its census count suggests.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
5 places in Dennis on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Dennis.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Dennis is a town on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. It is a seaside resort town with colonial mansions along the northern Cape Cod Bay coastline and beaches along the southern Nantucket Sound. As of the 2020 census, its population was 14,674. The town encompasses five villages, each with its own post office: Dennis (including North Dennis), Dennis Port, East Dennis, South Dennis, and West Dennis.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Dennis.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis | #219 | C+ | C | B− | C | A− |
| East Dennis | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Yarmouth | #241 | C | D | B− | C | A− |
| Brewster | #136 | B+ | D | A− | B | A |
| Yarmouth Port | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dennis Port | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| South Yarmouth | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| West Dennis | — | — | — | — | — | — |
East Dennis, Yarmouth Port, Dennis Port, South Yarmouth and West Dennis aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Dennis with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Dennis grades C+ overall, better than 41% of U.S. towns and #219 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A− for health, B− for safety and C for schools.
Massachusetts has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Dennis sits nearer the middle.
That is 7.1 years of the area's median household income ($95,241 across the Barnstable Town, MA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
3 notable people were born here, including Samantha Johnson and Nathaniel Freeman.
