Martha's Vineyard
Island south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, U.S. / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard,[2] is an island in the Northeastern United States, south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the smaller adjacent Chappaquiddick Island, a peninsula, currently connected to the Vineyard. It is the 58th largest island in the U.S., with a land area of about 96 square miles (250 km2),[3] and the third-largest on the East Coast, after Long Island and Mount Desert Island. Martha's Vineyard constitutes the bulk of Dukes County, which also includes the Elizabeth Islands and the island of Nomans Land.
Nickname: The Vineyard, The Rock | |
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Geography | |
Location | Dukes County, Massachusetts |
Coordinates | 41°24′N 70°37′W |
Major islands | Martha’s Vineyard, Chappaquiddick |
Area | 96 sq mi (250 km2) |
Length | 20.5 mi (33 km) |
Coastline | 200 km (124 mi) |
Highest elevation | 311 ft (94.8 m) |
Highest point | Peaked Hill |
Administration | |
United States | |
State | Massachusetts |
County | Dukes |
Demographics | |
Population | 20,600 (2018[1]) |
Pop. density | 179.8/sq mi (69.42/km2) |
Additional information | |
Official website | mvy |
The island's year-round population has considerably increased since the 1960s. In the 2023 Martha’s Vineyard Commission report, the year-round population was 20,530, an increase from 16,460 in 2010.[4] The summer population swells to more than 200,000 people. About 56 percent of the Vineyard's 14,621 homes are seasonally occupied.[5]
A study by the Martha's Vineyard Commission found that the cost of living on the island is 60 percent higher than the national average, and housing prices are 96 percent higher.[6] A study of housing needs by the Commission found that the average weekly wage on Martha's Vineyard was "71 percent of the state average, the median home price was 54 percent above the state's and the median rent exceeded the state's by 17 percent," all leading to a stark example of severe income inequalities between year-round residents and their seasonal counterparts.[7][8]