Labor Force and Earnings
Barnstable County’s workforce is shaped by the region’s seasonality, tourism-driven economy, and second-homeowner and retiree communities. It has a lower labor force participation rate than Massachusetts and the United States. While earnings vary by occupation, Barnstable County’s median annual earnings across all occupations for the employed civilian population 16 years and older in 2022 was $50,039, lower than the state’s but higher than the country’s. Across all three geographies, women had lower median annual earnings than their male counterparts, with the gender gap in Barnstable County amounting to approximately $12,700 in 2022.
