City profile · Massachusetts · Census ACS 2023

West Dennis, MA

West Dennis's Census ACS profile: residents, income, housing, and the joined public-record layers available for this place.

2,586
Residents
$93,958
Median income
$580,900
Median home
$2,261
Median rent (state)
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State rank, size-class rank, and four peer cities for West Dennis.

Place dossier plate

Sheet MA-WEST-DENNIS-MA · West Dennis, MA 2,586 pop · income 74th pct

POP-VILLAGE · INC-HIGH · COL-ABOVE · SAFE-UNK · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · HOME-HIGH · BOOK-UNK

  • POP-VILLAGE 2,586
  • INC-HIGH $93,958
  • COL-ABOVE 105.8
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-UPPER 74th
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ South Sarasota
  • HOME-HIGH $580,900
  • BOOK-UNK Tracts pending

Nearest income peer: South Sarasota, FL (+ $0 income $)

Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.

Income neighbourhood around West Dennis

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest West Dennis on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.

median HH income

What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-08

Compare beyond this state

Nationwide peers by population, income

Out-of-state nearest neighbors for West Dennis on ACS population and median household income . Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.

Similar population

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 2,586.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $93,958. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

West Dennis - the verdict

Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, West Dennis places in the 74th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.

74th
percentile, household income
88th
percentile, home value
98th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this

Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.

Data Snapshot: West Dennis, MA

2,586 people live in West Dennis, Massachusetts - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in West Dennis report a median income of $93,958 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 1.7%. West Dennis's housing stock carries a median value of $580,900, and the median resident age is 57.5 years. Educational attainment runs 44.0% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 56.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

The city is served by 1 public schools according to NCES Common Core of Data.

Massachusetts carries a cost-of-living premium: the state registers 105.8 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Above Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $2,261 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $330 across Massachusetts, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Workers in West Dennis report an average commute of 15.4 minutes, with 58.9% driving alone and 18.9% working from home. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 78.8 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (High).

A decision-led reading path

Useful questions to ask of West Dennis's data

How this reading path is ordered

This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from comparison shortlist to schools and households to work and mobility to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.

For West Dennis, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, commute-mode shares. No matched row is reported here for annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.

Question 1

Which cities make useful reference points for West Dennis?

Within Massachusetts, the closest population matches are Mattapoisett Center (2,573 residents, $99,864 income); Topsfield (2,573 residents, $169,468 income); Fiskdale (2,564 residents, $92,273 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Marshville, NC (2,586 residents); Alburtis, PA (2,586 residents); Mohave Valley, AZ (2,585 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.

Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

Question 2

What does the education layer cover for West Dennis?

The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 44.0% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.

The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.

See how the family ranking is built →

3. Work and mobility

What does the journey to work look like in West Dennis?

Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.

Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 58.9%. The reported mean trip to work is 15.4 minutes.

Compare commute patterns →

Question 4

How far does income reach against housing in West Dennis?

The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 6.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 1.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.

This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.

Compare the housing trade-off →

Population

2,586 residents

Micro place (under 10k)

Median Household Income

$93,958 /yr

Above median income · poverty 1.7% (Low poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

105.8 (US=100)

High cost · BEA RPP 2024, Massachusetts average

City profile score · West Dennis, MA

64/100

4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023

Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians (income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.

Poverty rate A
1.7%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.

Bachelor's+ share B+
44.0%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.

Household income B
$93,958

Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.

Cost of living F
105.8 index

BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.

Violent crime N/A
N/A

No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).

West Dennis profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Poverty rate, Bachelor's+ share, Household income, Cost of living. Poverty rateBachelor's+ shareHousehold incomeCost of living 64 C+
West Dennis profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Poverty rate: 88/100 (A) · 1.7%
  • Bachelor's+ share: 79/100 (B+) · 44.0%
  • Household income: 73/100 (B) · $93,958
  • Cost of living: 18/100 (F) · 105.8 index

How does West Dennis compare to other US cities?

Here's how West Dennis stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.

Household income 74% higher than other cities
Home value 88% pricier than other cities
Median rent 98% pricier than other cities

"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.

How we calculate these percentiles & ranks

Each percentile compares West Dennis against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Massachusetts only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.

Massachusetts-relative analysis

Median Gross Rent places West Dennis near the bottom of Massachusetts's cities

Among the 247 Massachusetts cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, West Dennis ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares West Dennis only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.

Median Household Income
#128 of 233
45th percentile in Massachusetts
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 247
0th percentile in Massachusetts
Median Home Value
#93 of 240
61st percentile in Massachusetts
Poverty Rate
#191 of 247
22nd percentile in Massachusetts
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#132 of 247
46th percentile in Massachusetts
How in-state ranks are ordered

Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Massachusetts only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.

74thIncome percentile
Gauge source note

74th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How West Dennis's home value compares nationally

Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)

$580,900 12th percentile more affordable than 12% of 15,600 US cities

Show national distribution $0–$25,000: 5 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $25,000–$50,000: 54 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $50,000–$75,000: 352 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $75,000–$100,000: 1,086 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $100,000–$125,000: 1,516 US cities (10%). Below this entry. $125,000–$150,000: 1,170 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $150,000–$175,000: 1,278 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $175,000–$200,000: 1,229 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $200,000–$225,000: 1,035 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $225,000–$250,000: 976 US cities (6%). Below this entry. $250,000–$275,000: 754 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $275,000–$300,000: 712 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $300,000–$325,000: 521 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $325,000–$350,000: 526 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $350,000–$375,000: 465 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $375,000–$400,000: 393 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $400,000–$425,000: 317 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $425,000–$450,000: 300 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $450,000–$475,000: 307 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $475,000–$500,000: 250 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $500,000–$525,000: 160 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $525,000–$550,000: 156 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $550,000–$575,000: 172 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $575,000–$600,000: 172 US cities (1%). This entry sits in this band. $600,000–$625,000: 163 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $625,000–$650,000: 167 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $650,000–$675,000: 135 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $675,000–$700,000: 101 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $700,000–$725,000: 95 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $725,000–$750,000: 71 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $750,000–$775,000: 65 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $775,000–$800,000: 70 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $800,000–$825,000: 57 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $825,000–$850,000: 67 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $850,000–$875,000: 60 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $875,000–$900,000: 58 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $900,000–$925,000: 47 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $925,000–$950,000: 37 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $950,000–$975,000: 31 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $975,000–$1,000,000: 470 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $1,000,000–$1,025,000: 0 US cities (0%). Above this entry. West Dennis $0 $1,025,000 every US city, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023

West Dennis's home-value-to-income ratio: 6.2×

ACS median home value divided by median household income.

Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#14,242 of 15,516
More affordable than 8% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#10,547 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)

At 6.2×, West Dennis sits in the pressured band: national rank #14,242 of 15,516 and #10,547 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000). Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.

How this ratio is calculated

Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000. Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0). This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.

Income distribution context

$93,958 West Dennis, MA median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - West Dennis, MA West Dennis, MA's median household income ($93,958) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not West Dennis, MA-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution West Dennis, MA median $93,958/yr, vs. U.S. national quintile pattern QUINTILE SHARE OF AGGREGATE INCOME Lowest 20% 3.4% Second 20% 9.2% Middle 20% 15.1% Fourth 20% 23.2% Top 20% 49.1% LORENZ CURVE cumulative income vs. population 100% 0% 100% pop. 0%
West Dennis, MA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for West Dennis, MA.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 44.0%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 1.7%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 56.2%

Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force

Population
2,586
Median Income
$93,958
Median Home Value
$580,900
Median Age
57.5
Poverty Rate
1.7%
Labor force participation
56.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
44.0%

Schools

Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Average Commute Time
15.4 minutes
Drive Alone
58.9%
Carpool
19.2%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
3.0%
Work from Home
18.9%

Based on 1,320 workers 16 and over.

Monthly Utility Costs

Massachusetts statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $330

EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Massachusetts at $330 (electricity about $160 , water and sewer about $60 ).

These are Massachusetts statewide averages, not a meter reading for West Dennis. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.

Living Costs & Risk

Massachusetts's BEA cost-of-living index is 105.8 (Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around West Dennis is $2,261/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Massachusetts statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 78.8 / 100 (High).

Cost/risk geography note

Cost of living is a Massachusetts statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county West Dennis sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How West Dennis compares to similar-size Massachusetts cities

Same-state peer method

Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.

City Population Median Household Income
West Dennis (this city) 2,586 $93,958
Mattapoisett Center 2,573 $99,864
Topsfield 2,573 $169,468
Fiskdale 2,564 $92,273
NCES CCD
Primary sources on this page

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NCES CCD, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Citation & verification links Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES. Joins use OMB Bulletin 23-01 / FIPS keys.

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Estimate caveats

ACS and UCR figures are citywide estimates with vintage lags; they do not replace a local visit, school visit, or insurance quote.

Editorial standards, provenance, and how to cite this page

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

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