The county economy from official statistics, with source and year on every table.
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By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Barnstable County is a county of Massachusetts with 231,668 residents. Its economy produced $19,298 million in 2024 (ranked #9 of 14 counties) and had 96,280 jobs with an average annual pay of $64,707 (#9 for pay). The unemployment rate was 3.8% in 2026M09. It is part of the Barnstable Town, MA metropolitan area (central county).
Barnstable County produced about $19,298 million of goods and services in 2024, which is 2.5% of the combined output of the 14 counties of Massachusetts that BEA reports (about 3.3% of the state's population lives here), and ranks it 9th of 14 on that measure. Per resident that is $83,302, 25% below the state average; the average for all counties of the state taken together is $110,522. In current dollars output grew 8.0% from 2023 to 2024, before adjusting for inflation.
BLS counts 96,280 jobs located in Barnstable County on average in 2024, spread over 9,789 employer sites (about 10 jobs per site). That is 0.42 jobs for every resident, below the 0.44 of the typical county in Massachusetts, which tells you whether the county is a place people mostly commute to for work or a place they commute from. The average annual pay per job was $64,707, 32% below the average of all counties in the state ($64,707 against $94,544). Average pay is total wages divided by jobs, so it is pulled up by high earners and counts part-time jobs as whole jobs; it is not the pay of a typical worker. The number of jobs rose 0.3% from 2023 to 2024.
The three largest private industries are accommodation and food services (19.3% of private jobs, $40,105 a year on average), health care and social assistance (18.6% of private jobs, $73,389 a year on average), retail trade (17.9% of private jobs, $44,996 a year on average). Together they hold 55.8% of private-sector jobs. Among industries with at least 3% of jobs, the best paying is professional and technical services at $93,138 a year, followed by construction ($81,495). The county is specialised in several industries: arts, entertainment, recreation (1.9 times the US share, 3,103 jobs); accommodation and food services (1.8 times the US share, 15,677 jobs); retail trade (1.5 times the US share, 14,563 jobs). A location quotient above 1 means an industry employs a larger share of workers here than in the whole country, so these are the industries where local employers compete hardest for skills. Several of the biggest employers pay well below the county average: accommodation and food services ($40,105), retail trade ($44,996). Jobs there are plentiful but the pay is lower than the headline average suggests.
In 2026M09 the unemployment rate in Barnstable County was 3.8%, 8% below the average of the state's counties (3.8% against 4.1%). The labour force (people working or looking for work) numbered 123,123. Over the last 12 months it ranged from 3.8% (2025M09) to 7.5% (2026M02); the latest month is preliminary and BLS revises it. These county rates are not seasonally adjusted, so compare the same month across years.
The median household income was $95,241 (ACS 2020–2024), 8% below the state median ($95,241 against $103,960). The guide covers 1 city with this as the main county: Barnstable Town. Open any of them for rent, home values, commuting and climate.
Counties close to Barnstable County in output are Bristol County, Hampden County, Hampshire County, Berkshire County. Compare their jobs, pay and unemployment on their own pages.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ | Rank among the 14 counties of Massachusetts ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 231,668 | 9 of 14 |
| GDP 2024 | $19,298 million | 9 of 14 |
| GDP per resident | $83,302 | 6 of 14 |
| Jobs (QCEW 2024) | 96,280 | 9 of 14 |
| Average annual pay | $64,707 | 9 of 14 |
| Job change vs 2023 | +0.3% | 7 of 14 |
| Unemployment rate (lower is better) | 3.8% | 3 of 14 |
| Median household income | $95,241 | 9 of 14 |
Federal jobs in Massachusetts (896) →All cities of MassachusettsState guide: Massachusetts
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
Cities of this guide whose main county is Barnstable County.
| City ⇅ | Population ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ | Median home value ⇅ | Bachelor's+ ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnstable Town | 49,568 | $91,982 | $1,917 | $602,500 | 42.1% |
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and food services | 15,677 | 19.3% | $40,105 | 1.79 |
| Health care and social assistance | 15,098 | 18.6% | $73,389 | 1.09 |
| Retail trade | 14,563 | 17.9% | $44,996 | 1.51 |
| Construction | 7,204 | 8.9% | $81,495 | 1.43 |
| Professional and technical services | 4,768 | 5.9% | $93,138 | 0.71 |
| Administrative and waste services | 4,390 | 5.4% | $62,109 | 0.77 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 3,592 | 4.4% | $52,110 | 1.24 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 3,103 | 3.8% | $46,761 | 1.92 |
| Manufacturing | 2,258 | 2.8% | $79,364 | 0.29 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 2,190 | 2.7% | $60,705 | 0.54 |
| Finance and insurance | 2,146 | 2.6% | $123,012 | 0.55 |
| Wholesale trade | 1,797 | 2.2% | $85,201 | 0.47 |
| Real estate and rental | 1,316 | 1.6% | $66,918 | 0.88 |
| Information | 1,069 | 1.3% | $73,983 | 0.59 |
| Educational services | 980 | 1.2% | $56,517 | 0.49 |
| Management of companies | 592 | 0.7% | $71,519 | 0.36 |
| Utilities | 511 | 0.6% | $127,127 | 1.40 |
A location quotient above 1 means the industry is more concentrated here than in the US. BLS withholds sectors with too few employers.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Labour force | 123,123 |
| Employed residents | 118,427 |
| Unemployed residents | 4,696 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.8% |
| Jobs located in the county (QCEW) | 96,280 |
| Employer sites | 9,789 |
Residents employed and jobs located here differ: many residents commute to other counties.
| County ⇅ | Population ⇅ | GDP 2024 ⇅ | GDP per resident ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Unemployment ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middlesex County | 1,638,365 | $240,665 million | $146,894 | 926,104 | $113,704 | 3.8% |
| Worcester County | 867,788 | $60,947 million | $70,233 | 351,476 | $71,641 | 4.2% |
| Essex County | 813,054 | $60,733 million | $74,697 | 323,694 | $75,548 | 4.3% |
| Suffolk County | 785,121 | $190,778 million | $242,992 | 713,809 | $131,280 | 4.2% |
| Norfolk County | 730,082 | $75,071 million | $102,826 | 346,327 | $84,497 | 3.9% |
| Bristol County | 582,270 | $36,041 million | $61,897 | 227,971 | $64,669 | 4.5% |
| Plymouth County | 535,075 | $36,917 million | $68,993 | 194,985 | $69,858 | 4.2% |
| Hampden County | 462,815 | $30,598 million | $66,113 | 202,129 | $62,834 | 5.3% |
| Barnstable County | 231,668 | $19,298 million | $83,302 | 96,280 | $64,707 | 3.8% |
| Hampshire County | 162,028 | $10,389 million | $64,117 | 65,786 | $62,006 | 3.8% |
| Berkshire County | 129,430 | $9,165 million | $70,812 | 57,946 | $62,257 | 3.9% |
| Franklin County | 70,944 | $3,704 million | $52,208 | 25,435 | $54,261 | 3.8% |
| Dukes County | 20,933 | $2,110 million | $100,784 | 9,176 | $71,428 | 3.3% |
| Nantucket County | 14,483 | $2,107 million | $145,505 | 8,560 | $78,799 | 3.0% |
231,668 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024).
$19,298 million in 2024 (BEA, current dollars).
3.8% in 2026M09 (BLS, not seasonally adjusted; the latest month may be revised).
96,280 jobs on average in 2024 with an average annual pay of $64,707 (BLS QCEW).