About Provincetown

Provincetown is a very small coastal town (ie. on the ocean or tidally-influenced rivers) located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 3,431 people and just one neighborhood, Provincetown is the 278th largest community in Massachusetts. Much of the housing stock in Provincetown was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic towns in the country.

Unlike some towns , Provincetown isn't mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Provincetown are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Provincetown is a town of sales and office workers, service providers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Provincetown who work in sales jobs (16.96%), office and administrative support jobs (11.76%), and food service (10.77%).

Of important note, Provincetown is also a town of artists. Provincetown has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Provincetown's character.

A relatively large number of people in Provincetown telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 15.57% 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.

Provincetown is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the town experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller town.

For a small town, there is also a high proportion of single, often educated, people living in Provincetown. This is not typical for most smaller communities in America, and adds a feeling of vibrancy to Provincetown.

The town is also nautical, which means that parts of Provincetown are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and tidal rivers. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

One of the benefits of Provincetown is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 13.41 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.

Being a small town, Provincetown does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.

Provincetown Information and Demographics

The population of Provincetown is very well educated relative to most cities and towns in the nation, where the average community has 14.96% of its adult population holding a 4-year degree or higher: 37.91% of adults in Provincetown have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in Provincetown in 2000 was $26,109, which is middle income relative to Massachusetts, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $104,436 for a family of four.

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

The most common language spoken in Provincetown is English. Some people also speak Portuguese.