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.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 11.85% 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.

Another notable thing is that Nantucket is a major vacation destination. Much of the town’s population is seasonal: many people own second homes and only live there part-time, during the vacation season. The effect on the local economy is that many of the businesses are dependent on tourist dollars, and may operate only during the high season. As the vacation season ends, Nantucket’s population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much 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. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

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.

If knowledge is power, Nantucket is a pretty powerful place. 58.38% of the adults in Nantucket have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

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.

In addition, Nantucket has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (15.09%).

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