About Orleans
Orleans is
located at the "elbow" of Cape Cod where the peninsula points north.
The Atlantic Ocean is to the east and Cape Cod Bay is to the west. The
town was incorporated in 1797, named for Louis Philippe Joseph,
Duke of Orleans, to honor France's allegiance during the American
Revolution.
Orleans is the heart of Outer Cape Cod,
home of the Cape Cod National Seashore, and is in the middle of the
region known as the Lower Cape. Harwich, Chatham and Brewster are to
the south and south west; Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro and Provincetown
comprise the outer Cape to the north.
Orleans Facts & Figures:
*Total Land Area: 13.94 square miles
Distance from Boston: 92 miles
Distance from Providence, R.I.: 97 miles
*Population - Year Round: 6,752 Summer: 22,000
+Age of Year-round Population: 62% are 55 years of age or older
+Housing Units: 5,073 total; 1,986 (39.1%) are second homes
+Percent of second homes for Lower Cape Cod: 54%
Governance: Town Meeting lead by an elected Board of Selectmen; Town Administrator manages day-to-day affairs.
*Tax Rate: $4.29 per $1,000 valuation - FY2005
School System:
high school and middle school are regional serving the towns of
Brewster, Orleans, Eastham and Wellfleet. Elementary schools are
town-by-town.
*Town of Orleans +US Census 2000
For a complete list of Town Departments and Other Information, Click Here to Visit the Town Web Site
