Orleans, MA
Barnstable County41.7883°N, 69.9900°W
Tracking 6,367 properties across Orleans, Massachusetts — a community where the median home dates to 1976 and the oldest to 1650. Every parcel mapped with building characteristics, environmental exposure, hazard risk, and ownership history assembled from 140+ sources.
6,367
Properties Tracked
1976
Median Year Built
$791K
Median Assessed Value
14%
FEMA Flood Zone
1.77M
NEP Data Facts Tracked
94%
Coastal Zone
Click any parcel to view intelligence
Orleans, MAInc. 1693
Orleans sits at the junction of the Mid-Cape and Outer Cape, facing both Cape Cod Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The town functions as the commercial center of the Lower Cape, with a compact downtown and the kind of retail and services that the smaller Outer Cape towns lack. Rock Harbor on the bay side and Nauset Beach on the ocean side create two very different coastal environments within a single town.
For property professionals, Orleans is a moderate-to-upper Cape market where the dual coastline creates different risk profiles on each side. Nauset Beach, a barrier beach, has experienced dramatic erosion and storm damage, while the bay-side properties face less violent but still significant tidal and storm exposure. The town's commercial center adds property diversity beyond the residential stock.
Risk Profile
FEMA flood zones, fire protection grades, radon, coastal exposure, storm surge — parcel by parcel
FEMA Flood Zones
892 properties (14%) are in FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas, where flood insurance is required for federally-backed mortgages.
X
5,475
AE
632
VE
249
A
11
Fire Protection Grades
Fire protection grades reflect proximity to fire stations and hydrant infrastructure. Grade affects insurance pricing in every New England state.
Grade A
144
Grade B
1,635
Grade C
2,888
Grade D
1,477
Grade E
223
Coastal & Water Exposure
5,997 properties (94%) are within 3 miles of the ocean. 1,803 are classified as waterfront. The closest property is 0 ft from the coastline.
985
SLR 1 ft
Properties affected
1,073
SLR 3 ft
Properties affected
1,242
SLR 6 ft
Properties affected
1,563
Surge Exposure
Cat 1/2/3/4
1,127
Estuary
Waterfront
279
Pond
Waterfront
111
Lake
Waterfront
Zone 3
Radon Risk
123 mph
Design Wind Speed
ASCE 7 standard
25 psf
Ground Snow Load
ASCE 7 standard
Relatively Moderate
FEMA Risk Index
NRI composite rating
The Property Landscape
6,367 properties · Median year built 1976 · Avg 31,163 sf
Property Types
Single Family
4,233
Two-Family
757
Institutional
498
Commercial
465
Multi-Family
311
Mixed Use
69
Industrial
25
Residential Other
3
Agricultural / Open Space
2
Vacant Land
2
Construction by Era
Pre-1800
14
1800-1849
91
1850-1899
166
1900-1949
543
1950-1979
2,229
1980-1999
1,692
2000+
710
Architectural Styles
Cape Cod
2,115
Ranch
923
Colonial
604
Townhouse
229
Old Style
196
Government Land
195
Contemporary
138
Antique
131
Market Activity
Recorded transactions from Barnstable County Registry of Deeds
23%
Owner-Occupied
22%
Out-of-State Owners
NE Provenance tracks recorded deeds, mortgages, and liens for 99% of Orleans properties. Ownership intelligence includes transaction history, entity detection, portfolio identification, and lien analysis — assembled from public registry records into a single property-level profile.
Building Permits & Maintenance
67,355 municipal building permits on file · 69% of properties
NE Provenance tracks 67,355 building permits across 4,395 Orleans properties — 69% coverage. 3,467 properties have permit activity in the last five years.
Each permit record reveals maintenance decisions: roof replacements, electrical upgrades, kitchen renovations, solar installations. For insurance, lending, and appraisal professionals, permit history is the most objective evidence of property condition available from public records.
67,355
Permits on File
69%
Coverage
Properties with permits
3,467
Active (5yr)
Recent permit activity
85%
Condition Rated
NEP assessment
Living in Orleans
Barnstable County · Massachusetts
Zip Codes026420264302653
6,307
Population
2020 Census
6,367
Properties
$791K
Median Assessed
23%
Owner-Occupied
14.6
Square Miles
Orleans covers 14.6 square miles in Barnstable County, Massachusetts. The median assessed property value is $791K.
Single-family homes account for 4,233 of Orleans's 6,367 properties and 1,068 multi-family buildings. There are 465 commercial properties. About 23% of properties are owner-occupied, and 22% are owned by someone out of state.
Assessed values range widely — the middle 50% of properties fall between $444K and $1.2M, with the highest assessed property at $28.9M. For professionals working in this market, the value spread tells you a lot about what you'll encounter door to door.
27% of properties are on municipal sewer, with the remainder on private septic systems. Electric service is provided by NSTAR ELECTRIC COMPANY. 539 properties have identified commercial activity — restaurants, retail, professional offices, and services that give Orleans its character.
What Orleans Property Intelligence Means for Professionals
Insurance & Underwriting
With 14% of properties in FEMA flood zones and 94% in the coastal zone, Orleans concentrates several major underwriting variables. Parcel-level hazard data provides the granularity that ZIP-level aggregation misses.
Insurance solutionsReal Estate & Appraisal
Orleans's 10 property types, spanning construction from 1650 to present, require local market knowledge for accurate comparable selection and valuation. NEP assembles building characteristics, environmental exposure, and condition signals into a single property profile.
Real estate solutionsLending & Title
Collateral assessment requires flood zone verification, environmental screening, and ownership chain validation. 14% of Orleans properties are in SFHAs where flood insurance is a federal lending requirement. NEP provides property-level compliance data from public records.
Lending solutionsInspection & Property Services
67,355 permits across 69% of properties means most Orleans inspection assignments can start with documented renovation and system history, not a blank slate.
Inspection solutionsExplore Orleans property intelligence.
6,367 Orleans properties — each with risk profiles, building data, permit history, and ownership analysis from 140+ sources. Open any property and see the full picture.
Newburyport, MA · Federalist · 3,524 sq ft · 4 bed / 3 bath · Built 1800 · Historic District
NEP Property Intelligence Summary
ConditionC1Fire ClassBFlood ZoneXOwnerIndividualOccupancyOwner-Occupied
Purchased2018 (8yr)Permits11 totalSystems3 updatedLiensClearAssessed$1.6MOcean0.3 mi
EraPre-1940HistoricDesignatedRenovationRecentRadonZone 1
Cite this data
Source: NE Provenance, “Professional Property Intelligence for New England,” neprovenance.com/insights/town/orleans-ma. For references or attribution, please link back to this page or neprovenance.com. Thank you, we appreciate it.