Brewster is a somewhat small coastal town (ie. on the ocean or tidally-influenced rivers) located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 10,094 people and two constituent neighborhoods, Brewster is the 175th largest community in Massachusetts.

Unlike some towns where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Brewster is neither predominently one or the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Brewster is a town of sales and office workers, professionals, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Brewster who work in sales jobs (16.29%), office and administrative support jobs (11.43%), and teaching (8.20%).

A relatively large number of people in Brewster telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 8.06% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Brewster is a major vacation destination. Much of the town's population is seasonal: many people own second homes and only live there part-time, during the vacation season. The effect on the local economy is that many of the businesses are dependant on tourist dollars, and may operate only during the high season. As the vacation season ends, Brewster's population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much quieter place to live.

The town is also nautical, which means that parts of Brewster are somewhat historic and bounded by the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and tidal rivers. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.

Brewster is a small town, and as is often the case with smaller towns, the population isn't large or dense enough to support much in the way of a public transportation system. In fact, there are many rural roads around Brewster, which makes walking or biking to and from work a bit difficult. This makes for a very car-oriented town: 98.09% of residents commute to work by private automobile, and people often drive out of town for work, shopping, and other activities.

As is often the case in a small town, Brewster doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.

Brewster Information and Demographics

The education level of Brewster citizens is very high relative to the national average among all cities (14.96%): 40.60% of adults in Brewster have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in Brewster in 2000 was $24,638, which is middle income relative to Massachusetts, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $98,552 for a family of four.

The people who call Brewster home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Brewster is White, followed by African-American. Important ancestries of people in Brewster include Irish, English, German, Italian, French, Scottish, Swedish, and Polish.

The most common language spoken in Brewster is English.