Bridgewater Town, Massachusetts

Area Profile

28,471 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Bridgewater Town, in Plymouth County.

65out of 100
Area Score
Top 29% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity2,451st of 4,199 cities measured52
SchoolsTop 28% of 4,162 cities measured67
GrowthTop 42% of 4,224 cities measured54
Housing affordability2,863rd of 4,218 cities measured58
Climate3,201st of 4,225 cities measured62
Physical resilienceTop 13% of 4,226 cities measured89
Access2,678th of 4,226 cities measured89
Economic stabilityTop 34% of 4,226 cities measured65
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.9% and median household income $112,651, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

In the public schools here, 62% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 17.6 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 32% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 4.0 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
28,471
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$112,651
Top 12% nationally
Density
1,045/sq mi
27.2 sq mi of land
Median age
37.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Massachusetts
Nearest major airport
BOS
27 mi · General Edward Lawrence Logan Intl
Median home value
$533,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.9% — higher than in all but 29% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 1.8% over the past year, to 14,857 employed residents.

40% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 81% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $112,651 is higher than in 88% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsPlymouth County, MA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$100,94382nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftPlymouth County, MA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$91,12776th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$7,2192024 ACS 5-Year$112,651Top 12%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,3962024 ACS 5-Year$46,657Top 21%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.7%Top 22%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year34.1 minBottom 19%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year39.5%Top 19%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year72.9%36th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202614,857Bottom 13%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+0.2%Top 42%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.8%Bottom 26%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202615,62413th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year77.7%Bottom 48%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageBoston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$89,620Top 10%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageBoston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$66,620Top 10%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year1.4%87th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.1%Bottom 47%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.9%Bottom 29%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year12.7%70th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.53.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.9% in July 2026. It has been rising, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024113k108k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $112,651 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides72,420$40,910
General and Operations Managers70,950$133,800
Registered Nurses64,240$106,180
Retail Salespersons64,150$36,850
Fast Food and Counter Workers60,130$36,290
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners43,160$46,550

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

62% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 64% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 17.6 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
5
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
17.6
across all schools here
Math proficiency
62.3%
Top 24% in Massachusetts
Reading proficiency
63.8%
Top 25% in Massachusetts
All 5 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Bridgewater-Raynham RegionalBridgewater-Raynham1,48718.172%72%
Mitchell Elementary SchoolBridgewater-Raynham93117.651%63%
Williams Intermediate SchoolBridgewater-Raynham86318.461%57%
Bridgewater Middle SchoolBridgewater-Raynham82816.659%57%
Therapeutic Day SchoolBridgewater-Raynham105.0——

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Massachusetts’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 10% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 110.4, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Boston, MA Metropolitan Division is up 40% over five years, and up 3.2% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $6,499 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.22% of the median home value.

The typical renter household here spends 32% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $2,092 a month.

A median home at $533,100 costs 4.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $133,566, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
110.4

Prices here run about 10% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
31.9%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Median gross rent
$2,092
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$533,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Bridgewater Town’s median household income of $112,651, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area’s figure2023110.4Bottom 22%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Boston, MA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+3.2%50th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Boston, MA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+39.7%40th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Boston, MA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+88.1%42nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year4.0Bottom 18%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year75.6%49th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4202024 ACS 5-Year9,42994th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$1772024 ACS 5-Year$2,092Bottom 7%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$23,2462024 ACS 5-Year$533,10090th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2122024 ACS 5-Year$6,49995th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$11,1742024 ACS 5-Year$133,566Top 10%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.07%2024 ACS 5-Year1.22%64th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year31.9%Bottom 32%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±252024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.5%30th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2222024 ACS 5-Year32985th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

54/ 100
Top 42% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 5 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 9% since 2020, reaching 29,167 in 2024.

Permit activity fell in each of the 5 calendar years through 2025. Over the twelve months since, it has turned the other way — against 11 the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 23 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Plymouth County, which contains Bridgewater Town, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $100,943, above the $91,127 of households that moved out.

At 0.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
23
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.8
Bottom 22% nationally
Year over year
+109%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202429k27k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
26%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$100,943
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$91,127
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Norfolk County, MA 5,078 people · 26% of arrivals
  2. Suffolk County, MA 2,958 people · 15% of arrivals
  3. Bristol County, MA 2,797 people · 14% of arrivals
  4. Middlesex County, MA 1,337 people · 6.9% of arrivals
  5. Barnstable County, MA 1,264 people · 6.5% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Bristol County, MA 3,742 people · 20% of departures
  2. Norfolk County, MA 3,440 people · 18% of departures
  3. Suffolk County, MA 1,592 people · 8.5% of departures
  4. Middlesex County, MA 894 people · 4.8% of departures
  5. Barnstable County, MA 864 people · 4.6% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Plymouth County, MA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202514415
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−90%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 84°F and January a low of 19°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 47.6 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 37, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station TAUNTON MUNI AP, 7.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year532024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals47.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals19°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals84°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year372024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals43°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
37
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
53
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

89 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, coastal flooding and hurricane, with inland flooding alone responsible for 62% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 87% of measured US cities.

Coastal floodingHigh
HurricaneElevated
EarthquakeModerate
Heat waveModerate
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: inland flooding, strong wind, lightning, ice storm, landslide, cold wave, wildfire, tornado, winter weather, hail, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Plymouth County records 3.2 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 5.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 19.8 per 100,000 residents in Plymouth County.

Homicide
3.2
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
5.6
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
19.8
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
9.9
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Bridgewater Town (Plymouth County) rather than Bridgewater Town itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest General Edward Lawrence Logan Intl at 27 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year95.0%Top 25%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle27 miBottom 32%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 27%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.3%Top 32%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
General Edward Lawrence Logan IntlBOS27 mi10,083 ft
Rhode Island TF Green IntlPVD29 mi8,700 ft
Manchester Boston RgnlMHT70 mi9,250 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
65
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Other cities in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
BostonSuffolk County666,44262Boston vs Bridgewater Town
CambridgeMiddlesex County118,79670Cambridge vs Bridgewater Town
LowellMiddlesex County118,36860Lowell vs Bridgewater Town
BrocktonPlymouth County105,38651
QuincyNorfolk County102,11469
LynnEssex County101,70954
NewtonMiddlesex County89,04472
LawrenceEssex County88,73648
SomervilleMiddlesex County81,03666
FraminghamMiddlesex County72,39963
HaverhillEssex County67,69856
MaldenMiddlesex County65,90663

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Bridgewater Town side by side with a similar place.

Bridgewater Town vs AbingtonBridgewater Town vs Cloverly

Moving to Bridgewater Town from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Bridgewater Town

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Bridgewater Town with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Bridgewater Town closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
0232425,704$112,726$533,600—