Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Barnstable Town, MA MSA — October 2026
Cape Cod wages climb as workforce shrinks and housing costs outrun pay.
Barnstable County weekly wages rose 5.3% year-over-year even as employment fell 1.9% and county unemployment held near 4.2%, against a state rate of 4.3% and housing prices up 64% since 2019.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Barnstable County unemployment: 4.2% — vs 3.6% in August, 4.3% statewide
- County weekly wage growth: 5.3% YoY — Q4 2025, outpacing 1.9% employment decline
- Housing vs. wage growth gap: 64% vs 24% — Cape Cod home prices vs wages, 2019-2023
- County employment level: 89.9K — Q4 2025, down 1.9% YoY through March 2026
Key takeaways
Wages are rising faster than the workforce is growing.
Average weekly wages in Barnstable County climbed 5.3% year-over-year through Q4 2025 while employment fell 1.9% in the twelve months through March 2026. That combination is consistent with a smaller labor pool commanding higher pay.
Cape Cod Potato Chips closure signals manufacturing fragility.
Campbell's shutdown of the Hyannis facility eliminated 49 jobs in early 2026, a modest figure against the county's roughly 90,000 total employment base. The closure nonetheless underscores how few large-scale manufacturers anchor the local economy outside tourism and healthcare.
Housing costs are outrunning wage gains by a wide margin.
Cape Cod housing prices rose 64% between 2019 and 2023 while average weekly wages rose only 24% over a comparable period. That gap bears directly on whether seasonal and year-round workers can remain within commuting distance of visitor-economy jobs, a structural constraint on local labor supply.
Seasonal unemployment swings mask a tighter underlying labor market.
County unemployment fell to 3.6% in August, well below the state's 4.3% reading, before settling closer to 4.2% annually as tourism employment cycles down. The summer tightness suggests employers compete hard for workers during peak season, a dynamic with implications for shoulder-season capacity planning.
Median advertised pay by role — Barnstable Town, MA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $31,840 | $36,490 | $39,343 | Stable | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $33,156 | $36,504 | $38,480 | Stable | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $32,972 | $40,760 | $43,680 | Stable | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $50,000 | $69,371 | $81,067 | Significant increase | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $33,460 | $34,670 | $40,398 | Significant decline | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $41,600 | $47,964 | $54,080 | Moderate increase | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $73,139 | $83,317 | $87,950 | Stable | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $37,440 | $41,600 | $41,600 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $37,440 | $49,873 | $52,000 | Moderate increase | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $33,313 | $37,440 | $41,267 | Moderate decline | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $43,680 | $48,880 | $50,960 | Moderate increase | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $39,576 | $53,092 | $57,200 | Moderate increase | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician | $62,949 | $75,179 | $87,500 | Moderate decline | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $99,228 | $123,219 | $133,319 | Stable | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer | $111,435 | $130,625 | $130,625 | Stable | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer | $97,836 | $127,071 | $162,305 | Significant increase | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $63,440 | $70,000 | $75,375 | Moderate decline | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst * | $78,000 | $100,000 | $107,500 | Stable | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $60,320 | $66,560 | $71,275 | Significant increase | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $49,519 | $67,722 | $79,408 | Moderate increase | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager * | $77,868 | $99,000 | $130,500 | Moderate increase | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $41,890 | $61,525 | $70,275 | Stable | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $67,283 | $70,823 | $73,294 | Stable | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $43,753 | $76,247 | $79,006 | Significant decline | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst * | $83,690 | $102,500 | $115,000 | Stable | $98,302 |
* State-level figure shown where metro postings were too few.
WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings (reported as the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay). Download: CSV · JSON
Industry snapshot
| Sector | Median advertised pay | Pay trend | Postings trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | $79,603 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $54,099 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $39,998 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $37,440 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Information | $50,440 | Stable | Significant decline |
| Financial Activities | $53,560 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $64,222 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $64,461 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $38,480 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Barnstable County's unemployment rate eased to 3.6% in August before settling near a county-wide 4.2% annual reading, a seasonal pattern tied to Cape Cod's tourism-dependent structure and separate from underlying demand. Weekly wages rose 5.3% year-over-year through Q4 2025 even as employment contracted 1.9% through March 2026, a divergence consistent with fewer positions carrying higher pay.
What it means
Wage gains that outpace headcount growth point to a metro economy where businesses are paying more for a smaller available workforce, a dynamic commerce leaders should weigh against Cape Cod's housing cost trajectory — prices up 64% since 2019 against 24% wage growth — when assessing whether workers can affordably live near seasonal employment centers. Advertised pay for Customer Service Representatives ($49,873, up moderately) and Administrative/Office roles ($53,092, up moderately) suggests year-round service and administrative functions are absorbing wage pressure even as frontline hospitality pay (Food Service Worker, down moderately to $37,440) softens with the season. Local economic development leaders may want to evaluate how off-season wage softening in tourism-adjacent roles interacts with the county's broader labor force contraction when forecasting shoulder-season business activity.
Looking ahead
Seasonal inflection point: Cape Cod's labor market typically loosens sharply as hospitality and retail activity wind down after Columbus Day; watch whether the county's unemployment rate reverts toward or above the state's 4.3% reading over the next two monthly releases.
Emerging pressure point: Housing affordability continues to widen relative to wage growth, and commerce leaders should watch whether local employers report difficulty retaining off-season staff who commute from more affordable areas off-Cape.
Worth watching: Massachusetts' statewide labor force grew by 8,400 in September, its largest monthly gain in two years; whether Barnstable County shares in that participation rebound will signal if the county's own workforce contraction since 2025 is stabilizing.
Policy signal: State-level manufacturing employment gained 10,500 jobs regionally even as Cape Cod lost its Hyannis potato chip facility; local economic development officials may want to track whether any replacement manufacturing or light-industrial investment emerges to diversify the county's employment base.
Methodology
Advertised pay from active employer job postings, not survey data. WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings: distribution analysis shows roughly the lowest 10% of raw values are erroneous entries, so the reported median is the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay. WageScape observes 98% of U.S. job openings daily.
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