August 13, 2021 – According to 2020 U.S. Census data released yesterday, Nantucket’s official year-round population is 14,255. This new figure represents a 40 percent increase over the 2010 Census count of 10,172. On a percentage basis, Nantucket grew more than any other county in Massachusetts, followed by Aquinnah and Chilmark on Martha’s Vineyard.

The percentage of houses on Nantucket that are unoccupied for the majority of the year decreased from 64 percent to 55 percent. This indicates a larger number of the roughly 11,500 housing units are being used year-round. Year-round housing units increased to 5,478, from 4,896 units.

These figures indicate that the 10 percent figure needed to achieve our 40B Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI) obligations will also rise. The state still needs to manipulate the year-round housing unit number before it will release new SHI obligations, expected early next year. Nantucket will likely need to build more than 490 affordable units (our current 10% target) in order to achieve safe harbor in the years to come. There are currently 273 affordable units on the SHI list.