The village was named after Iyannough, a sachem of the Cummaquid tribe.

In 2010, Hyannis had a total population of 14,089, living in 8,406 households. 19.80% of Hyannis’ total 10,922 housing units were seasonally vacant. Hyannis had relatively more multi-family properties in comparison to the town and the county. Hyannis had an owner-occupancy rate of 58.3%, which was nearly 20 percentage points lower than the town or the county. This difference is associated primarily with the number of apartment properties in the village. A decline in younger, family formation households was attributed to the lack of suitable employment opportunities and “affordable” housing. The median value of owner-occupied housing units in Hyannis in 2000 was $149,720. The gross median rent in Hyannis was $718/month. In 2002, the median price for a single family home in Hyannis was $196,000.^{[citation needed]}

Median head of household income was $38,467. 15.9% of households earned more than $75,000. 14.6% of Hyannis population lived below the poverty line. 18.74% were over 65 years old. Unemployment in Hyannis was 3.8% of the labor force. Hyannis is growing at the upper end and the lower end of the age cohorts, and although there has been an increase in persons 25 to 44 years of age, this has not necessarily been reflected in income change, as Hyannis witnessed an increase in the number of households earning $10,000 to $15,000 and an increase in the number of persons and families below the poverty level.

Hyannis is the main point of origin for ferry service to Nantucket. The Steamship Authority runs a year-round two and a half hour auto ferry service to Nantucket. The island can also be reached by a passenger-only, one-hour catamaran trip run by the Steamship Authority (seasonal) and Hy-Line Cruises (year-round). Hy-Line also runs a catamaran to Martha’s Vineyard in season. One of the world’s first Roll-On and Roll-Off ferries, the Searoad of Hyannis operated in 1956 from Hyannis to Nantucket, with the capability to transport three loaded semi-trailers in any weather.

Barnstable Municipal Airport (Airport code HYA) is the main air transportation hub for Cape Cod, with daily flights to Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Boston, Provincetown, and New York City. The airport is served by Cape Air (year-round) and JetBlue (in-season).

The Hyannis Transportation Center (HTC) is the main bus and rail terminal on Cape Cod. The HTC services is a terminal station for Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority, the operator of the Cape-wide public bus network on Cape Cod, intercity buses operated by the Plymouth & Brockton and Peter Pan bus lines, and the seasonal CapeFlyer passenger rail service which operates between Boston and Hyannis Friday-Sunday in-season.

The Cape Cod Central Railroad operates seasonal tourist excursions from Hyannis to Sandwich and Sagamore, with some scheduled weekend stops at West Barnstable.

Freight rail service is provided by the Massachusetts Coastal Railroad.