What changes town to town
Off-Cape buyers are often surprised by how much differs from one town line to the next, and in Barnstable, even from one village to the next. Every town guide covers the same points so you can compare them side by side:
- Tax rate and residential exemption. Rates are per $1,000 of assessed value and are set each fiscal year. A few towns offer a residential exemption for primary residences, and some add fire or water district rates.
- Septic vs. sewer. Most of the Cape is still on septic. Towns are at very different stages of their wastewater plans and the state's nitrogen rules. See Septic, Sewer & Nitrogen.
- Water supplier. A property may be served by a town water department, an independent water or fire district, or a private well. See Water & Flood.
- Flood exposure, beaches, harbors and transfer stations. These are local services with local rules and stickers.
Upper Cape
Bourne
Both sides of the Cape Cod Canal and both bridges. Buzzards Bay villages from Monument Beach to Cataumet.
Read the guide →Sandwich
The Cape's oldest town: historic village center, boardwalk, canal marina and inland pond country.
Read the guide →Falmouth
Woods Hole ferry, Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound shoreline, town water and active sewer projects.
Read the guide →Mashpee
Mashpee Commons town center, large ponds, Popponesset and Waquoit Bays, phased sewer.
Read the guide →Mid Cape
Barnstable
Seven villages including Hyannis, Centerville and Osterville. Fire-district tax rates, four water suppliers, Hyannis ferries.
Read the guide →Yarmouth
Historic Yarmouth Port on 6A, Bass River and Lewis Bay on the south side. Route 28 sewer Phase 1.
Read the guide →Dennis
Beaches on both bay and sound, Sesuit Harbor, Scargo Lake, and the start of the Cape Cod Rail Trail.
Read the guide →Lower Cape
Harwich
South-side harbors on Nantucket Sound, cranberry bogs and inland ponds.
Read the guide →Brewster
Cape Cod Bay tidal flats, Route 6A historic district and Nickerson State Park.
Read the guide →Chatham
The Cape's elbow: Atlantic and Nantucket Sound shoreline, Main Street and working fish pier.
Read the guide →Orleans
Commercial crossroads of the Lower Cape, with Nauset Beach, Pleasant Bay and Rock Harbor.
Read the guide →Outer Cape
Eastham
Gateway to the Cape Cod National Seashore, with bay beaches on the west and ocean beaches on the east.
Read the guide →Wellfleet
Wellfleet Harbor, ocean beaches and large tracts of National Seashore land.
Read the guide →Truro
Mostly National Seashore land, with dunes, bluffs and the Pamet River.
Read the guide →Provincetown
At the tip of the Cape: dense harbor-front village, MacMillan Pier and the Province Lands.
Read the guide →Start with the practical questions: commute and bridge access, whether you want to be on public water and sewer, flood insurance cost, and what you'll pay in taxes. Our Start Here page and Relocating to the Cape guide walk through those questions.
Comparing Cape towns?
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