Is Martha Vineyard expensive to live?
Summary. Cost of living in Martha's Vineyard, MA, United States is $3,411 and it seems moderately according to the average monthly salary which is $3,800. For more living costs insights, check the list of prices for Restaurants, Markets, Transportation, Utilities, and 40 more categories.
...
What are the median and average incomes in Martha's Vineyard?
Y-o-Y Change | ||
---|---|---|
Median Household Income | $82,857 | -4.9% |
People below Poverty Level | 864 | -2.6% |
The Vineyard is home to about 17,000 year round residents, though 63% of homes on the island are host to seasonal residents.
...
GreatSchools Rating.
7/10 Oak Bluffs Elementary School Public • PreK-8 | 435 Students | 3 reviews |
---|---|---|
NR Chilmark Elementary School Public • K-5 | 60 Students | N/A |
Vineyard Haven, a community on Martha's Vineyard, came out on top with home prices more expensive than one of the nation's largest cities. The median home price in the community is $699,500, while the median household income for year-round residents is $71,811.
The Hollywood Reporter in 2011 listed Spike Lee, David Letterman and Diane Sawyer as some of the island's famous homeowners. The Kennedys also have a long connection with the island. Barack and Michelle Obama, the former president and first lady, bought a mansion on the island in 2019 for $11.75 million.
In Martha's Vineyard Island, the summers are warm, humid, and windy; the winters are very cold, snowy, and extremely windy; and it is partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 24°F to 79°F and is rarely below 10°F or above 85°F.
Transportation | Edit |
---|---|
Gasoline (1 gallon) | 3.84$ |
Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) | 28,000.00$ |
Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) | 32,000.00$ |
The Spot: Blue Heron Farm
So it's no surprise that they are some of the regulars on Martha's Vineyard in the summer. The former First Family stayed in the same $15 million property in Chilmark Pond — Blue Heron Farm — three years in a row.
Race/Ethnicity | School | State |
---|---|---|
White % | 78.8 | 62.1 |
Native American % | 2.3 | 0.2 |
Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander % | 0.2 | 0.1 |
Multi-Race, Non-Hispanic % | 4.2 | 3.3 |
Do hurricanes hit Marthas Vineyard?
Hurricane Bob (1991) was the last time a hurricane hit Martha's Vineyard and it devastated the islands and Cape Cod. So it is rare for a hurricane to churn its way all the way to New England. What aren't rare are Nor'Easters and they often pack hurricane like conditions.
On Martha's Vineyard, policymakers have chronically underinvested in affordable housing and allowed investment properties and short-term rentals to proliferate unchecked. The island, experts said, is more than 10 years late to confront its housing crisis, and it is not moving fast enough to narrow the gap.

The poverty rate for Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts was 7.5% in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“Down-island” comprises Vineyard Haven (aka Tisbury if you're a town official, aka VH if you're a local), Oak Bluffs (aka party central) and Edgartown. If you're after the quintessential New England harbor with picture perfect houses and picket fences then go no further than Edgartown.
While the downtown areas are great with amazing shopping and dining options, what Martha's Vineyard is truly known for is its natural beauty. With cliffs, pristine beaches, marshland, and two wildlife sanctuaries there is so much to explore.
Martha's Vineyard is fortunate to have high quality drinking water. Unlike municipal tap water, which has rigorous testing requirements, bottled water has no rules about testing for biological, chemical, or radioactive contaminants.
The median price for an inland building lot right now is $722,000. With construction costs pushing past $500 per square foot, building a new home that can sell for under $1,500,000 becomes more and more difficult.
Since the time of Ulysses S. Grant in 1874, Martha's Vineyard has been a popular vacation site for presidents. Presidents who have taken a vacation there include Presidents John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.
It's true, Martha's Vineyard is an Island located off the south shores of Cape Cod. With no bridge or connected road, you can't drive here, so travel via air or sea is the only way to arrive. For those planning to take a ferry, the option of taking your car over is available only through the Steamship Authority.
The only problem is Gaga doesn't own the place. After attaining the property's address, a review of Edgartown property records revealed that a Mr. Nicholas Burgin, not Stefani Germanotta, is the legal owner of the property, having purchased it for $4.08 million from Martin L.
Do the Kennedys still own property on Martha's Vineyard?
The Kennedy family is keeping 95 acres at the property, including their homes. Red Gate Farm was a sheep farm and hunting cabin when Kennedy Onassis bought it in 1979. She died in 1994. It has been maintained by Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of Kennedy Onassis and President John F.
In the Oak Bluffs area of Martha's Vineyard, the Inkwell, as it's fondly known, has long been a summer destination for Black families; the area was even listed in The Negro Motorist Green Book, a travel guide for vacation-bound African-American families popular from the '40s to '60s.
Mosquitoes are active spring through fall on the island and prefer a warm, moist environment. They are more than a nuisance, as they also pose health risks to humans and our pets. Even when summer winds down, the island remains at risk for viruses carried by mosquitoes.
A trip to Martha's Vineyard is not complete without a visit to one or more of our beautiful beaches. You will not be disappointed. There is a beach for everyone. Want to surf, windsurf, kiteboard, dip your toes, take your kids, swim, lay on the beach, there is a beach for you!
Electricity is brought to the Island by four 23.2-kilovolt underwater cables that are vulnerable and hard to repair, and the Vineyard's 50-megawatt peak electricity usage level is fast approaching their 62.5-megawatt capacity; the cost of additional cables will be high and will be borne by all.