Bourne vs Falmouth Schools
How the two districts, about 9 miles apart, compare on test scores, high school results, classrooms, spending and housing.
The short answer
- Overall: Falmouth ranks higher, #153 to Bourne's #233 of 328 Massachusetts districts.
- MCAS 2026: Falmouth students score higher: ELA 41% vs 35%, Math 43% vs 29% met expectations. Statewide: 41% and 41%.
- SAT: Falmouth averages 138 points higher (1124 vs 986).
- Spending: Similar: $24,160 per student in Bourne and $25,497 in Falmouth.
- Homes: Homes cost more in Falmouth: single-family homes average $1.03M vs $794K. The average tax bill is $6,075 in Bourne and $5,881 in Falmouth.
MCAS results, 2026
Share of students meeting or exceeding expectations, all tested grades combined. Both districts test grades 3–10; "State" is the statewide figure for the same grades.
| Year | Bourne | Falmouth | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 35% | 41% | 41% |
| 2025 | 34% | 44% | 42% |
| 2024 | 32% | 43% | 41% |
| 2023 | 38% | 49% | 44% |
| 2022 | 32% | 49% | 43% |
| 2021 | 42% | 58% | 48% |
| Year | Bourne | Falmouth | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 29% | 43% | 41% |
| 2025 | 31% | 42% | 41% |
| 2024 | 30% | 46% | 41% |
| 2023 | 28% | 49% | 41% |
| 2022 | 30% | 49% | 40% |
| 2021 | 29% | 44% | 35% |
No test in 2020. Statewide 10th-grade results dropped after 2024, when passing the MCAS stopped being a graduation requirement.
High school results
Averages of each district's ranked high schools. "MA avg" is the average of all districts with high school data.
Classrooms, teachers & spending
Spending is total per-pupil expenditure from all sources in FY2024. Class size is the average across all classes in the district.
Students
| Bourne | Falmouth | |
|---|---|---|
| Students in classes | 1,520 | 2,904 |
| English learners | 2.3% | 8.3% |
| Students with disabilities | 20.5% | 24% |
| White | 79.6% | 74.2% |
| Asian | 2.1% | 1.6% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 7.7% | 10.9% |
| Black/African American | 2.6% | 4.9% |
| Multi-race | 7.4% | 7.5% |
Homes & taxes
What could you afford in either town?
FY2026 averages for single-family homes from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue; for a district with several towns, the comparison uses the average of its towns. Assessed values usually run below recent sale prices.