Rockport, MA
Essex County42.6572°N, 70.6177°W
Tracking 4,495 properties across Rockport, Massachusetts — a community where the median home dates to 1949 and the oldest to 1650. Every parcel mapped with building characteristics, environmental exposure, hazard risk, and ownership history assembled from 140+ sources.
4,495
Properties Tracked
1949
Median Year Built
$742K
Median Assessed Value
21%
FEMA Flood Zone
1.94M
NEP Data Facts Tracked
100%
Coastal Zone
Click any parcel to view intelligence
Rockport, MAInc. 1840
Rockport occupies the northern tip of Cape Ann, sharing the peninsula with Gloucester but carrying a distinctly different character. Where Gloucester is a working fishing port, Rockport became an artists' colony and summer destination — Motif #1, the red fishing shack on Bradley Wharf, is one of the most painted buildings in America. The town's housing stock reflects this dual identity: a mix of colonial-era fishermen's cottages, Victorian summer homes, and year-round residential properties ranging from modest to waterfront.
Rockport is surrounded by ocean on three sides, and the granite coastline creates dramatic but well-defined coastal exposure. Unlike barrier beach communities, Rockport's rocky shore provides some natural protection, but storm surge, wave action, and nor'easter wind remain significant risk factors for waterfront and near-waterfront properties. The town has a dry history — it voted to ban alcohol sales in 1856 and only partially reversed the ban in 2005 — which affects commercial property use in ways that don't show up in standard data.
Risk Profile
FEMA flood zones, fire protection grades, radon, coastal exposure, storm surge — parcel by parcel
FEMA Flood Zones
932 properties (21%) are in FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas, where flood insurance is required for federally-backed mortgages.
X
3,563
VE
719
AE
163
AO
40
A
10
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
1,219
Grade B
1,816
Grade C
980
Grade D
430
Grade E
50
Coastal & Water Exposure
4,495 properties (100%) are within 3 miles of the ocean. 1,681 are classified as waterfront. The closest property is 0 ft from the coastline.
356
SLR 1 ft
Properties affected
405
SLR 3 ft
Properties affected
633
SLR 6 ft
Properties affected
824
Surge Exposure
Cat 1/2/3/4
701
Marine
Waterfront
174
Pond
Waterfront
85
Estuary
Waterfront
Zone 1
Radon Risk
123 mph
Design Wind Speed
ASCE 7 standard
50 psf
Ground Snow Load
ASCE 7 standard
Relatively Moderate
FEMA Risk Index
NRI composite rating
The Property Landscape
4,495 properties · Median year built 1949 · Avg 1,731 sf
Property Types
Single Family
2,432
Multi-Family
482
Institutional
366
Condominium
358
Vacant Land
352
Other
146
Two-Family
144
Commercial
107
Mixed Use
78
Residential Other
16
Construction by Era
Pre-1800
66
1800-1849
181
1850-1899
568
1900-1949
986
1950-1979
836
1980-1999
578
2000+
319
Architectural Styles
Colonial
509
Old Style
464
Condominium
422
Cape Cod
412
Conventional
376
Ranch
365
Multi-Family
299
Municipal Government
290
Market Activity
Recorded transactions from Essex County Registry of Deeds
56
Sales (12 mo)
Arms-length transactions
$850K
Median Sale Price
Past 12 months
47%
Owner-Occupied
7%
Out-of-State Owners
NE Provenance tracks recorded deeds, mortgages, and liens for 93% of Rockport properties. Ownership intelligence includes transaction history, entity detection, portfolio identification, and lien analysis — assembled from public registry records into a single property-level profile.
Living in Rockport
Essex County · Massachusetts
Zip Codes01966
VillagesPigeon Cove
6,992
Population
2020 Census
4,495
Properties
$742K
Median Assessed
47%
Owner-Occupied
7.0
Square Miles
Rockport covers 7.0 square miles in Essex County, Massachusetts. The median assessed property value is $742K.
Single-family homes account for 2,432 of Rockport's 4,495 properties, with 358 condominiums and 626 multi-family buildings. There are 107 commercial properties and 352 parcels of vacant land. About 47% of properties are owner-occupied, and 7% are owned by someone out of state.
Assessed values range widely — the middle 50% of properties fall between $525K and $983K, with the highest assessed property at $19.9M. For professionals working in this market, the value spread tells you a lot about what you'll encounter door to door.
72% of properties are on municipal sewer, with the remainder on private septic systems, and 89% have public water service. Electric service is provided by National Grid (Massachusetts Electric). 513 properties have identified commercial activity — restaurants, retail, professional offices, and services that give Rockport its character.
Environmental note: Rockport has an average EPA lead paint indicator at the 79th percentile nationally, consistent with 815 properties built before 1900 when lead paint was standard.
What Rockport Property Intelligence Means for Professionals
Insurance & Underwriting
With 21% of properties in FEMA flood zones and 100% in the coastal zone, Rockport concentrates several major underwriting variables. Parcel-level hazard data provides the granularity that ZIP-level aggregation misses.
Insurance solutionsReal Estate & Appraisal
Rockport'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. 21% of Rockport 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
Understanding a property's construction era, environmental exposure, and building characteristics before arriving on site transforms inspection from discovery to verification.
Inspection solutionsExplore Rockport property intelligence.
4,495 Rockport 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/rockport-ma. For references or attribution, please link back to this page or neprovenance.com. Thank you, we appreciate it.