Nantucket is a medium-sized coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 14,444 people and six associated neighborhoods, Nantucket is the 145th largest community in Massachusetts.
Nantucket home prices are not only among the most expensive in Massachusetts, but Nantucket real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.
And if you like science, one thing you'll find is that Nantucket has lots of scientists living in town - whether they be life scientists, physical scientists (like astronomers), or social scientists (like geographers!). So, if you're scientific-minded, you might like it here too.
Of important note, Nantucket is also a town of artists. Nantucket has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Nantucket’s character.
A relatively large number of people in Nantucket telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 11.85% 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.
Another notable thing is that Nantucket is an extremely popular destination for tourists and seasonal residents. So much of the population is seasonal such that the town’s population swells significantly during the vacation season, and drops again when the season ends. Because of this, much of the local economy is centered around tourism; some businesses may be operated only during the high season. During the low season, year-round residents will notice that the city is a substantially quieter place to live.
Nantucket is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.
Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Nantucket spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 17.22 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the town are less than they would otherwise be.
Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Nantucket. 58.38% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.
The per capita income in Nantucket in 2022 was $72,733, which is upper middle income relative to Massachusetts, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $290,932 for a family of four. However, Nantucket contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Nantucket is a very ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Nantucket home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Nantucket residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Nantucket also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 16.41% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Nantucket include Irish, English, Italian, German, and Polish.
Nantucket also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 15.09%.
The most common language spoken in Nantucket is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Slavic languages.