Northwest HarwichMA
A town of 3,932 in Massachusetts.
Is Northwest Harwich a good place to live?
37% of residents are 65 or older in Northwest Harwich, above both the Massachusetts town median (19%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). Only 7 of the 284 Massachusetts towns we compare have a lower midsummer high than Northwest Harwich. Northwest Harwich’s density of trails is 3.7 miles per square mile, above both the Massachusetts town median (1.8) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). The biggest place to walk is Bell’s Neck Conservation Lands, 258 acres with 5.5 miles of trail. We don’t grade Northwest Harwich yet; the figures below are still real.
Northwest Harwich lives by the ocean
Coastal flooding makes up 13% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
- Island Pond Conservation Area
- Herring River Marsh Conservation Area Directions ↗
- Town Landing Directions ↗
- Sutphin At Island Pond Conservation Restriction
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Northwest Harwich.
Older than Massachusetts overall
Among residents in Northwest Harwich, 13% are under 18. Here, 47% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, against 47% in Massachusetts as a whole. For Northwest Harwich, the midpoint age is 56.6 years.
| Northwest Harwich | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 56.6 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 13% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 47% | 47% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.7 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Northwest Harwich | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 4.7% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.2% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.2% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 6.6% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 5.3% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 16.1% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.1% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 20.5% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 16.3% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.5% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.3% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.5% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.1% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 23.7% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,900, single groups can be off by several points
With 0.7 jobs for every working resident, most of Northwest Harwich’s workers commute out
Only 8% of working residents stay in Northwest Harwich for work; the rest commute out. Northwest Harwich’s average commute is 24 minutes. Employers in Northwest Harwich added 310 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 1,233. The top destinations are Harwich (18%), Barnstable Town (13%) and Chatham (9%).
| Northwest Harwich | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $108,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.5% | 6% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Northwest Harwich has set aside 16.6% of its land for conservation
34 miles of trail in 32 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bell’s Neck Conservation Lands | 5.5 mi | 258 |
| 2. Robbins Pond Conservation Area | 2.3 mi | 59 |
| 3. Herring River Greenbelt | 1.4 mi | 81 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expect four seasons and pleasant summers in Northwest Harwich
Among 284 Massachusetts towns, just 7 have a higher January low than Northwest Harwich. July afternoons reach 78°, January nights drop to 25° and about 25 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
How healthy Northwest Harwich is
In Northwest Harwich, 31% of adults sleep under 7 hours. Against the Massachusetts average, Northwest Harwich comes out ahead on 13 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 7. Among adults locally, 14% binge drink and 14% report frequent mental distress.
| Northwest Harwich | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 85% | 82% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 28% | 35% |
| What stands out | Northwest Harwich | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.1% | 12.4% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.4% | 11.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 13.1% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Northwest Harwich faces a moderate natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
FEMA puts 63% of Northwest Harwich’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 20% to hurricanes. Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in 59% of U.S. communities. Flood insurance has paid out on 18 claims locally since 1978.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
A home in Northwest Harwich sells for about $672K at the median
For households in Northwest Harwich, the share who live in a home they own is 90%. In Northwest Harwich, the typical sale closed at 101.6% of the list price. On the market locally: a median 51 days to sell.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Northwest Harwich
SS Pendleton and 31 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Northwest Harwich. Close and well known come first.
11 mi Ancient siteSS Pendleton
32 mi MuseumPlimoth Patuxet
8 mi National SeashoreCape Cod National Seashore3.7M visitors a year
35 mi LandmarkNational Monument to the Forefathers
25 mi LandmarkPilgrim Monument
7 mi MuseumElephant HousePhoto credits
SS 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
Moving to Northwest Harwich: who provides what
Northwest Harwich is unincorporated, so Barnstable County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
92% of working residents leave Northwest Harwich for work
Where Northwest Harwich’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Northwest Harwich
About 2 of every 100 Northwest Harwich residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
About Northwest Harwich
Census-designated place in Massachusetts, United States
Northwest Harwich is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Harwich in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, Northwest Harwich had a population of 4,296. The CDP includes the Harwich villages of West Harwich, North Harwich, and Pleasant Lake, as well as a portion of the mailing area for Harwich Port.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 9.2 sq mi
- Elevation
- 26 ft
Northwest Harwich’s neighbors
7 towns share a border with Northwest Harwich.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Harwich | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Harwich | #155 | B | D | A− | B | A |
| Harwich Center | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Harwich Port | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| East Harwich | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Brewster | #136 | B+ | D | A− | B | A |
| Dennis | #219 | C+ | C | B− | C | A− |
| Dennis Port | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Northwest Harwich, Harwich Center, Harwich Port, East Harwich and Dennis Port aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Northwest Harwich with a neighbor →
Questions about Northwest Harwich
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Northwest Harwich, MA a good place to live?
We don’t grade Northwest Harwich yet; the figures below are still real.
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