Land Cover and Population Changes on Cape Cod

The driving force for recent land cover change on the Cape is a rapid increase in population. Essentially, there has been a doubling of the Cape's population since the late 1960s. 

 

Barnstable County Population by Town 1900-2003

Town

1900

1940

1960

1980

1990

2000

2003

Barnstable
4,364
8,333
13,465
30,898
40,949
47,821
48,907
Bourne
1,657
3,315
14,011
13,874
16,064
18,721
19,523
Brewster
829
827
1,236
5,226
8,415
10,094
10,401
Chatham
1,749
2,136
3,273
6,071
6,579
6,625
6,849
Dennis
2,333
2,015
3,727
12,360
13,858
15,973
16,226
Eastham
502
582
1,200
3,472
4,462
5,453
5,632
Falmouth
3,500
6,878
13,037
23,640
27,960
32,660
33,823
Harwich
2,334
2,535
3,740
8,971
10,275
12,386
12,859
Mashpee
303
434
867
3,700
7,884
12,946
14,200
Orleans
1,123
1,451
2,342
5,306
5,838
6,341
6,491
Provincetown
4,247
3,668
3,389
3,536
3,617
3,431
3,472
Sandwich
1,448
1,360
2,082
8,727
15,489
20,136
20,960
Truro
767
585
1,002
1,486
1,572
2,087
2,169
Wellfleet
988
890
1,404
2,209
2,438
2,749
2,841
Yarmouth
1,682
2,286
5,504
18,449
21,196
24,807
25,192
 

27,826

37,295

70,279

147,925

186,605

222,230

229,545

Sources:

1) Cape Cod Commission. (1997). Cape Trends: Cape Cod demographic and economic trends 1997 [online].

2 ) Wilkie, Richard W. and Jack Tager, [eds.]. 1991. Historical Atlas of Massachusetts. University of Massachusetts Press. Amherst, MA.152 pp., US Census

 

 

 

The population on Cape Cod has been growing faster than the rest of the State.  The most intense population growth took place in the 1950's, 60's and 70's.  However, even today it continues to climb as development continues and more and more summer homes are converted to year round residences.

 

Percent population increase

 

1930 - 1950

1950 - 1970

1970 - 1990

1990 - 2000

Cape Cod

 44.88% 106.50% 93.06% 19.10%

Massachusetts

 10.40% 21.29% 5.74% 5.50%

 

The following graph illustrates the primary types of land cover on the Cape that have experienced change between 1951 and 1990. Various types of residential and commercial construction account for the largest increases among land cover categories, occupying an additional 79 sq. miles of land previously dedicated to other use.

Of course this conversion has been made at the expense of some other types of land cover, and it can be seen that forest, cropland and open land were the biggest losers, seeing a decrease among them of 95 sq. miles during this period - nearly a quarter of the total area of the Cape.

Land Cover Change - Cape Cod

Sources:

Resource Mapping Project, UMass-Amherst, 1995 and Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA), MassGIS, 1996.