Plymouth County, Massachusetts facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Plymouth County
County
First Church Site marker, Men of Kent Cemetery, Meetinghouse Lane, Scituate, Massachusetts
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Massachusetts
Massachusetts's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
Founded	June 2, 1685
Seat	Plymouth and Brockton
Largest city	Brockton
Area
• Total	1,093 sq mi (2,830 km2)
• Land	659 sq mi (1,710 km2)
• Water	434 sq mi (1,120 km2)  40%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	530,819
• Density	806.1/sq mi (311.2/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	4th, 8th, 9th

Cranberry Bogs in Plymouth County, September 24, 2022. The cranberries (bright pink in the image) are ready for harvest.

Plymouth County is a county in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, south of Boston. As of the 2020 census, the population was 530,819. Its county seats are Plymouth and Brockton. In 1685, the county was created by the Plymouth General Court, the legislature of Plymouth Colony, predating its annexation by the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Plymouth County is part of the Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA–NH Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,093 square miles (2,830 km²), of which 659 square miles (1,710 km²) is land and 434 square miles (1,120 km²) (40%) is water. It is the third-largest county in Massachusetts by total area.

Adjacent counties

The towns of Hingham and Hull in Plymouth County extend north of Norfolk County and face onto Massachusetts Bay, sharing a northern water boundary with Suffolk County.

• Norfolk County (north)
• Barnstable County (southeast)
• Bristol County (west)

National protected area

• Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area (part)
• Massasoit National Wildlife Refuge

Major highways

• I‑195
• I‑495
• US 6
• US 44
• Route 3
• Route 3A
• Route 14
• Route 18
• Route 24
• Route 25
• Route 27
• Route 28
• Route 36
• Route 37
• Route 53
• Route 58
• Route 79
• Route 80
• Route 104
• Route 105
• Route 106
• Route 123
• Route 139
• Route 140
• Route 228

Demographics

Jacob Thaxter House in Hingham

2010 census

At the 2010 census, there were 494,919 people, 181,126 households, and 127,925 families in the county. The population density was 750.9 inhabitants per square mile (289.9/km²). There were 200,161 housing units at an average density of 303.7 per square mile (117.3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 85.5% white, 7.2% black or African American, 1.2% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 3.2% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 33.7% were Irish, 15.8% were Italian, 15.3% were English, 7.3% were German, and 3.7% were American.

Of the 181,126 households, 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.6% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.4% were non-families, and 23.8% of households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.18. The median age was 41.1 years.

The median household income was $73,131 and the median family income was $86,251. Males had a median income of $60,303 versus $43,837 for females. The per capita income for the county was $33,333. About 5.0% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

Demographic breakdown by town

Income

The ranking of unincorporated communities that are included on the list are reflective if the census designated locations and villages were included as cities or towns. Data is from the 2007–2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.

Media

For television, the city is served by the Boston and Providence media markets; no television stations are located within the county.

Radio stations located in Plymouth County include:

The first radio broadcast in history was made in 1906, from the Brant Rock neighborhood in the town of Marshfield.

The Brockton Enterprise is the only daily newspaper published in the county, although the Quincy Patriot Ledger has extensive coverage of the South Shore of Massachusetts generally and Plymouth County in particular.

There are numerous weekly newspapers published in the county, including:

• Abington Mariner – Abington
• Duxbury Clipper – Duxbury
• The Hingham Journal – Hingham
• Marshfield Mariner - – Marshfield
• Old Colony Memorial – Plymouth
• Plympton-Halifax-Kingston Express – Plympton, Halifax, and Kingston.
• Rockland Standard – Rockland
• Scituate Mariner – Scituate
• The Sentinel – Marion and Rochester

Many were operated by the Memorial Press Group, based in Plymouth, until the chain was sold to GateHouse Media in 2006. The flagship of the group was the Old Colony Memorial, the oldest continually published weekly newspaper in New England, first published in 1822.

Communities

Cities

• Bridgewater
• Brockton (traditional county seat)

Towns

Census-designated places

Other villages

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Plymouth (Massachusetts) para niños