Barnstable Town composite
36.2 /100
Grade D · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Barnstable Town vs Pittsfield
Barnstable Town, MA and Pittsfield, MA side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 36.2
- Barnstable Town Life Score
- D
- Barnstable Town grade
- 41.4
- Pittsfield Life Score
- C-
- Pittsfield grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Barnstable Town scores higher on 3 (wages, safety, childcare) and Pittsfield on 4 (cost of living, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Barnstable Town Pittsfield ◗
cost of living
27
42
wages
91
86
rent
4
24
safety
55
55
schools
10
10
childcare
1
1
environment
27
27
Barnstable Town and Pittsfield differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Barnstable Town has a cost-of-living index of 98.4 vs Pittsfield's 95.1 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $76,307 in Barnstable Town and $73,362 in Pittsfield. A 2-bedroom averages $2,422/mo vs $1,626/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Barnstable Town vs Pittsfield Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Barnstable Town and Pittsfield works out to $9,552 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Barnstable Town carries the same local purchasing power as $96,701 in Pittsfield - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 308.8 per 100,000 residents in MA vs 308.8 in MA, with property-crime rates of 1101.2 and 1101.2 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: MA lists 1,831 public schools at a 11.9:1 student-teacher ratio, while MA lists 1,831 schools at 11.9:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $20,571/yr in the Barnstable Town area versus $20,571/yr in Pittsfield - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Barnstable Town and Pittsfield are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Pittsfield composite
41.4 /100
Grade C- · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
1 pts
Pittsfield cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
1 pts
Barnstable Town safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Barnstable Town
Barnstable Town composite (Grade D)
Pittsfield
Pittsfield composite (Grade C-)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Barnstable Town | Pittsfield |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 98.4 | 95.1 |
| Goods | 97.0 | 97.0 |
| Services | 158.4 | 153.7 |
| Rents | 90.0 | 73.5 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Pittsfield gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Barnstable Town?
$
Equivalent in Pittsfield:
$96,701
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Barnstable Town: 98.4, Pittsfield: 95.1, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Barnstable Town | Pittsfield |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,834/mo | $1,245/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,846/mo | $1,269/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $2,422/mo | $1,626/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $2,985/mo | $2,109/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $3,428/mo | $2,577/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Barnstable Town | Pittsfield |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $76,307 | $73,362 |
| Total Employment | 87,090 | 50,610 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Barnstable Town (MA) | Pittsfield (MA) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 308.8 | 308.8 |
| Property Crime | 1101.2 | 1101.2 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | MA | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,831 | 1,831 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 11.9:1 | 11.9:1 |
| Charter Schools | 4.2% | 4.2% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | MA | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $20,571/yr | $20,571/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $18,516/yr | $18,516/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $14,656/yr | $14,656/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | MA | MA |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 461 | 461 |
| Water Systems | 564 | 564 |
| Superfund Sites | 41 | 41 |
| Water Violations | 1,140 | 1,140 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Barnstable Town | Pittsfield |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 36.0 | 38.0 |
| Good Air Days | 93.7% | 78.1% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 3 days | 4 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | MA | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 6/100 | 6/100 |
| Total Violations | 73,886 | 73,886 |
| Health-Based Violations | 7,389 | 7,389 |
| Systems with Violations | 95.2% | 95.2% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | MA | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 76/100 | 76/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 24.5% | 24.5% |
| HPSA Designations | 171 | 171 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | MA | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 25/100 | 25/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 78.8 | 78.8 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 82.3 | 82.3 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Barnstable Town more expensive than Pittsfield? ▼
Barnstable Town has a cost of living index of 98.4 compared to Pittsfield's 95.1 (national average = 100). Barnstable Town is 3.2 points above Pittsfield on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Barnstable Town and Pittsfield? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $2,422/mo in Barnstable Town vs $1,626/mo in Pittsfield, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,834/mo to $1,245/mo.
How do salaries compare between Barnstable Town and Pittsfield? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $76,307 in Barnstable Town and $73,362 in Pittsfield, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Barnstable Town has the same purchasing power as $96,701 in Pittsfield.
Is Barnstable Town or Pittsfield safer? ▼
At the state level, MA has a violent crime rate of 308.8 per 100,000 residents compared to MA's 308.8 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1101.2 vs 1101.2 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Barnstable Town and Pittsfield? ▼
MA has 1,831 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 11.9:1, while MA has 1,831 schools at 11.9:1. Charter schools make up 4.2% of MA schools vs 4.2% in MA. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
Explore more
Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare