Barnstable is a medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 49,532 people and 11 associated neighborhoods, Barnstable is the 28th largest community in Massachusetts.

Housing costs in Barnstable are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in Massachusetts.

Also of interest is that Barnstable has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 10.29% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. 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.

One of the nice things about Barnstable is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.

The education level of Barnstable citizens is very high relative to the national average among all cities (21.84%): 39.50% of adults in Barnstable have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in Barnstable in 2022 was $51,061, which is middle income relative to Massachusetts, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $204,244 for a family of four. However, Barnstable contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Barnstable is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Barnstable home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Barnstable residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Barnstable include Irish, English, Italian, Brazilian, and German.

Barnstable also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 18.22%.

The most common language spoken in Barnstable is English. Other important languages spoken here include Portuguese and Spanish.