Regional Wealth

The 2018 Cape Cod Regional Policy Plan describes four core economic development principles, which include “expanding opportunity and regional wealth by increasing exports, substituting imports locally, and fostering local ownership.” Barnstable County’s Gross Domestic Product (Real GDP), a key metric of regional wealth, amounted to more than $16 billion in 2022 (in current dollars). Over the past five years, the GDP has increased overall slightly, recovering from a decline between 2019 and 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The private industries comprising the greatest shares of the County’s GDP in 2022 were real estate, rental, and leasing; health care, and social assistance; and accommodation and food services and retail trade.