Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Sandwich grades A− overall, 100th of 282 graded towns in Massachusetts. It has 170 miles of trail and 38% conserved land. Residents are healthier than 92% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and the median household earns $122K. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $685K for a typical one and 7.2 times the Barnstable Town metro’s $95K median household income. 38% of the land in Sandwich is conserved, where Massachusetts’ towns sit at 19% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Its National Register listings include Town Hall Square Historic District and Wing Fort House.
Where Sandwich beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,991 in 1790, a low of 1,360 in 1940, 20,259 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1641 and 3 maps from 1938 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sandwich takes its name from Sandwich in Kent, England, 3,340 miles across the Atlantic.
UKUK editionSandwich, settled in 1637, takes its name from Sandwich, a town in Kent, England.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Sandwich is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sandwich. Close and well known come first.
35 mi MuseumUSS Massachusetts
17 mi MuseumPlimoth Patuxet
28 mi Ancient siteSS Pendleton
20 mi LandmarkNational Monument to the Forefathers
35 mi MuseumBattleship Cove
35 mi MuseumUSS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.USS Massachusetts: USN, Public domain · 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 · Battleship Cove: Electroengie at English Wikipedia, Public domain · USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.: "Official U.S. Navy Photograph, Released, U.S. Naval Photographic Center, U.S. N, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sandwich, 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 Sandwich.
Sandwich reports less crime than Mashpee or any other graded neighbor, keeps more of its land conserved than most of Massachusetts and has fewer 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns.
Its 10,745 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 92% of Massachusetts towns.
170 miles of trail in 35 parks and preserves. Sandwich’s trail density is 3.9 miles per square mile, against 1.8 in Massachusetts’ towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Maple Swamp Conservation Area, 581 acres with 26.2 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Maple Swamp Conservation Area | 26.2 mi | 581 |
| 2. Sandwich Game Farm | 3.4 mi | 131 |
| 3. Fisk Forestdale Lot | 1.5 mi | 98 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its B+ is the best School Grade on its borders; Falmouth (B−) is next.
Its public schools are run by the Sandwich school district. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Sandwich Middle High School, with 888 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oak RidgeLargest public elementary schoolGrades 3–6 | Grades 3–6 | 673 | B |
| Sandwich Middle High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 888 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Within Massachusetts it is healthier than 67% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar.
8% of adults have diabetes in Sandwich. Sandwich beats the Massachusetts average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 17% of adults get no exercise outside work in Sandwich.
| Sandwich | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8% | 9.3% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 19% | 25% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 28% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 33% | 36% |
| What stands out | Sandwich | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9% | 12.4% |
| Fewer adults who get no exercise | 16.6% | 21.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.5% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A− tops all 4 graded towns on its borders; Mashpee (B+) comes closest. At 9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 63% of Massachusetts’s graded towns.
The property crime rate in Sandwich is 2.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Sandwich | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.6 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
About one in 5 of Sandwich’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Sandwich has added 714 jobs, to 5,626 in 2023. Sandwich’s average trip to work is 28 minutes.
| Sandwich | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $122,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 15% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
People 65 and older are 27% of residents (18% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 14% of residents (24% statewide). 52% of Sandwich adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Sandwich | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 51.8 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 27% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 52% | 47% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 17% | 20% | 22% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 54.9, men 50.1.
| Sandwich | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.3% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.4% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.6% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.7% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.6% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 18% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.4% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.9% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20.3% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.3% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.8% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 31.5% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 20.1% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The E Wareham weather station, 10 miles away, records that about 4 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 99% of U.S. towns.
Sandwich has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 23° and about 37 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
169 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 24 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 169 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sandwich.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Sandwich home is worth about $685,000, up 3.2% in a year, close to the Massachusetts typical home.
| Sandwich | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 89% | 79% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,751 a month | $1,682 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of Sandwich
About 4 of every 100 Sandwich residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
Coastal flooding makes up 19% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
8 places in Sandwich on the National Register of Historic Places.
14 notable people were born in Sandwich.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Sandwich is a town on Cape Cod in Massachusetts and is its oldest town. The town motto is Post tot Naufracia Portus, Latin for "after so many shipwrecks, a haven". The population was 20,259 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Sandwich.
It grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Mashpee (B−) comes closest.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandwich | #100 | A− | D | A− | B+ | A |
| East Sandwich | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bourne | #222 | C+ | C− | B− | C | A |
| Mashpee | #191 | B− | D | B+ | B− | A− |
| Forestdale | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sagamore | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Barnstable Town | #244 | C | D | C+ | C− | A− |
| Falmouth | #193 | B− | C− | B− | B− | A |
East Sandwich, Forestdale and Sagamore aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Sandwich with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Sandwich grades A− overall, better than 78% of U.S. towns and #100 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.
14 notable people were born here, including Jake Keough and Luke Keough.
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