Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Provincetown's standout: it has 35 miles of trail and 68% conserved land. Overall it grades C−, 251st among Massachusetts's 282 graded towns. It is healthier than 80% of U.S. towns and it is among the most walkable places in the country. Its weakest subject is schools: its public schools trail 87% of Massachusetts towns on state tests and graduation. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 100% of U.S. towns, with 10 places on the National Register. Provincetown’s average trip to work is 13 minutes, against 30 minutes in Massachusetts’ towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Only 15 of Massachusetts’ 300 towns score lower on safety. The biggest place to walk is Cape Cod National Seashore, 7,577 acres with 29.8 miles of trail.
Where Provincetown beats most towns.
Census counts: 454 in 1790, 3,664 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1816 and 5 maps from 1887 on.
10 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Provincetown is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Provincetown. Close and well known come first.
in town LandmarkPilgrim Monument
in town National SeashoreCape Cod National Seashore3.7M visitors a year
24 mi MuseumPlimoth Patuxet
35 mi Ancient siteSS Pendleton
26 mi LandmarkNational Monument to the Forefathers
33 mi Theme parkEdaville RailroadPilgrim Monument: Peter Whitlock (Transferred by adavyd/Originally uploaded by Willster3), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cape Cod National Seashore: SeduisantRedux, CC BY 3.0 · Plimoth Patuxet: Tr!sie, CC BY-SA 3.0 · SS Pendleton: United States Coast Guard, Richard C. Kelsey, Public domain · National Monument to the Forefathers: T.S. Custadio aka ToddC4176 at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Edaville Railroad: Dan Crow, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Provincetown, 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 Provincetown.
Provincetown is a second-home town and is safe by national standards but not by Massachusetts’s; it also is a long drive from an emergency room.
Its 7,610 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in any other Massachusetts town. Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #1 of 283 in Massachusetts.
35 miles of trail in 24 parks and preserves. The trail density in Provincetown is 2.0 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cape Cod National Seashore | 29.8 mi | 7,577 |
| 2. Railroad Row | 1.5 mi | 17 |
| 3. Provincetown Corridor Wildlife Management Area | 0.6 mi | 121 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Provincetown school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provincetown SchoolsLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 152 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests
At 11.4 years of the Barnstable Town metro’s $95K median household income, the typical home (about $1.08M) costs more against local pay than in 94% of Massachusetts towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living.
The typical Provincetown home is worth about $1,083,000, up 4.9% in a year, 65% above the Massachusetts typical home. Provincetown’s median rent is $1,261 a month.
| Provincetown | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,261 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 76% | 79% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The nearest emergency room, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Plymouth, is 24.6 miles away in a straight line. Within Massachusetts it is less healthy than 69% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar.
27% of adults feel lonely in Provincetown. Provincetown beats the Massachusetts average on 12 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 13% of adults report frequent mental distress in Provincetown.
| Provincetown | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 33% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 32% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 86% | 82% | 79% |
| What stands out | Provincetown | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.5% | 11.1% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.6% | 5.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 13% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 32.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 94% of Massachusetts’s graded towns.
Only 7 of the 277 Massachusetts towns we compare have a higher property crime rate than Provincetown. Provincetown reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 76% report less.
| Provincetown | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 20.6 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.4 per 1,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
214 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 18 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 68% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 214 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Provincetown.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Provincetown has chilly winters and pleasant summers. Among 283 Massachusetts towns, just 8 have a lower July high than Provincetown.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 1,337 working residents takes 13.2 minutes, against 29.1 across Massachusetts. 31.5% of workers work from home, against 18.6% across Massachusetts.
48% of Provincetown’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Boston (5%), Truro (4%) and Barnstable Town (2%).
| Provincetown | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 48% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $137,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.2% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
None within 15 miles of Provincetown; the nearest are
About 10 of every 100 Provincetown residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
2,942 counted in 2010 and 3,664 in 2020; an estimated 3,729 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
10 places in Provincetown on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Provincetown.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Provincetown () is a town located at the tip of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States census, Provincetown has a summer population as high as 60,000. It contains the census-designated place of the same name. Often called "P-town" or "Ptown", the locale is known as a vacation destination for its beaches, harbor, artists, and tourist industry, particularly for LGBTQ people.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Provincetown.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Provincetown | #251 | C− | C− | C− | D | A− |
| Truro | — | — | C | B | B− | A |
Truro has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Compare Provincetown with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Provincetown grades C− overall, better than 21% of U.S. towns and #251 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A− for health, C− for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. That is 11.4 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−.
8 notable people were born here, including Donald Baxter MacMillan and Nehemiah Dyer.
