Bristol County is a county in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 579,200. The shire town is Taunton. Some governmental functions are performed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, others by the county, and others by local towns and cities. The county is the sixth most populous county in Massachusetts. Bristol County is part of the Providence metropolitan area, which is also included in Greater Boston. The county is adjacent to the state of Rhode Island. It is geographically adjacent to the Massachusetts counties of Plymouth, Norfolk, and Dukes (via water), and the Rhode Island counties of Bristol, Newport, and Providence.

History

Bristol County was created by the Plymouth Colony on June 2, 1685, and named after its "shire town" (county seat), Bristol.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (20%) is water. The highest point in Bristol County is Sunrise Hill (Watery Hill) at above sea level located in World War I Memorial Park in North Attleborough. It is also to note that Bristol, Plymouth and Taunton are all places in South West England. Their Massachusetts cousins were named after the originals as South West England was the focal point for sailing and discovery at the time of America's discovery. John Cabot set sail from Bristol and sailed down the Severn on which lies Newport in Wales.

Adjacent counties

  • Norfolk County—north
  • Plymouth County—east
  • Newport County, Rhode Island—southwest
  • Bristol County, Rhode Island—west
  • Providence County, Rhode Island—northwest

To the south, Dukes County is opposite Buzzards Bay from Bristol County.

National protected area

  • New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park

Demographics

thumb|left|Largest self-reported ancestry groups in [[New England. Americans of Portuguese descent plurality shown in grey.]]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 579,200. Of the residents, 20.3% were under the age of 18 and 17.8% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 41.5 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.8 males. 89.6% of residents lived in urban areas and 10.4% lived in rural areas.

The racial makeup of the county was 78.7% White, 4.4% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 5.3% from some other race, and 8.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 9.5% of the population.

!Pop 2010

!

!% 2000

!% 2010

!

|-

|White alone (NH)

|477,938

|469,344

|style='background: #ffffe6; |445,658

|89.38%

|85.60%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |76.94%

|-

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|9,788

|15,736

|style='background: #ffffe6; |23,123

|1.83%

|2.87%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.99%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|1,028

|1,089

|style='background: #ffffe6; |938

|0.19%

|0.19%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.16%

|-

|Asian alone (NH)

|6,673

|10,140

|style='background: #ffffe6; |13,651

|1.24%

|1.84%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.35%

|-

|Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|114

|119

|style='background: #ffffe6; |102

|0.02%

|0.02%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.01%

|-

|Other race alone (NH)

|9,081

|7,206

|style='background: #ffffe6; |8,730

|1.69%

|1.31%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.50%

|-

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|10,814

|11,631

|style='background: #ffffe6; |32,247

|2.02%

|2.12%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.56%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|19,242

|33,020

|style='background: #ffffe6; |54,751

|3.59%

|6.02%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |9.45%

|-

|Total

|534,678

|548,285

|style='background: #ffffe6; |579,200

|100.00%

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

|}

2010 census

At the 2010 census, there were 548,285 people, 213,010 households, and 141,338 families in the county. The population density was . There were 230,535 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 88.4% white, 3.3% black, 1.9% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 3.4% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 6.0% of the population.

  • 30.1% Portuguese
  • 19.2% Irish
  • 13.1% French
  • 12.5% English
  • 9.3% Italian
  • 5.7% French Canadian
  • 5.0% German
  • 4.5% Polish
  • 3.4% Puerto Rican
  • 3.3% Sub-Saharan African
  • 2.5% American
  • 2.0% Scottish
  • 1.4% Swedish
  • 1.3% Scotch-Irish
  • 1.0% Arab

Of the 213,010 households, 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.5% were married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.6% were non-families, and 27.4% of households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.06. The median age was 39.8 years.

2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 534,678 people, 205,411 households, and 140,706 families in the county. The population density was . There were 216,918 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 90.98% White, 2.03% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American, 1.26% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 3.12% from other races, and 2.34% from two or more races. 3.60% was Hispanic or Latino of any race. 29.7% were of Portuguese, 13.0% Irish, 8.9% French, 8.2% English, 6.8% Italian and 6.4% French Canadian ancestry according to Census 2000. 79.1% spoke English, 13.9% Portuguese, 2.9% Spanish and 1.6% French as their first language. The United States Census Bureau reported Bristol County as being one of two counties in the United States with a plurality of people of Portuguese ancestry (the other being the contiguous Bristol County, Rhode Island).

Of the 205,411 households 33.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.60% were married couples living together, 13.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.50% were non-families. Of all households 26.50% were one person and 11.00% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.08.

The age distribution was 24.60% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 30.50% from 25 to 44, 22.20% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.50 males.

The median household income was $43,496 and the median family income was $53,733. Males had a median income of $39,361 versus $27,516 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,978. About 7.80% of families and 10.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.00% of those under age 18 and 12.00% of that age 65 or over.

Income breakdown by town

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.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|- valign=bottom

! Rank

! Town

!

! Per capita<br />income

! Median<br />household<br />income

! Median<br />family<br />income

! Population

! Number of<br />households

|-

| 1

| Mansfield

| Town

| $39,792

| $98,182

| $112,788

| 23,094

| 8,161

|-

| 2

| Easton

| Town

| $39,751

| $89,714

| $111,045

| 23,061

| 7,852

|-

| 3

| Rehoboth

| Town

| $38,415

| $87,563

| $97,711

| 11,470

| 4,093

|-

| 4

| Westport

| Town

| $35,337

| $73,736

| $83,289

| 15,396

| 5,867

|-

|

| Massachusetts

| State

| $35,051

| $65,981

| $83,371

| 6,512,227

| 2,522,409

|-

| 5

| Raynham

| Town

| $34,904

| $82,855

| $96,190

| 13,208

| 4,739

|-

| 6

| North Attleborough

| Town

| $34,374

| $80,757

| $94,469

| 28,593

| 10,426

|-

| 7

| Dighton

| Town

| $34,258

| $85,284

| $94,044

| 7,003

| 2,386

|-

| 8

| Swansea

| Town

| $33,910

| $71,716

| $79,486

| 15,886

| 6,173

|-

|

| North Westport

| CDP

| $33,858

| $67,614

| $82,827

| 4,188

| 1,700

|-

| 9

| Seekonk

| Town

| $33,136

| $78,032

| $89,833

| 13,700

| 4,752

|-

| 10

| Freetown

| Town

| $32,437

| $82,208

| $93,773

| 8,828

| 3,150

|-

| 11

| Dartmouth

| Town

| $32,138

| $73,007

| $86,650

| 33,759

| 12,119

|-

|

| Raynham Center

| CDP

| $32,034

| $84,028

| $91,154

| 4,619

| 1,563

|-

|

| Mansfield Center

| CDP

| $31,762

| $71,685

| $98,902

| 7,946

| 3,022

|-

| 12

| Somerset

| Town

| $31,718

| $69,449

| $80,795

| 18,172

| 6,983

|-

| 13

| Norton

| Town

| $30,772

| $75,538

| $91,636

| 18,970

| 6,297

|-

|

| North Seekonk

| CDP

| $30,705

| $65,804

| $81,111

| 2,552

| 941

|-

| 14

| Attleboro

| City

| $30,398

| $65,298

| $76,563

| 43,459

| 16,393

|-

|

| Smith Mills

| CDP

| $30,207

| $67,907

| $79,123

| 5,030

| 1,965

|-

| 15

| Acushnet

| Town

| $30,084

| $64,695

| $81,643

| 10,299

| 3,818

|-

|

| Bliss Corner

| CDP

| $29,569

| $52,285

| $63,554

| 6,063

| 2,534

|-

|

| Bristol County

| County

| $28,682

| $55,813

| $71,416

| 547,305

| 210,536

|-

| 16

| Fairhaven

| Town

| $28,658

| $60,179

| $77,089

| 15,915

| 6,444

|-

| 17

| Berkley

| Town

| $28,206

| $81,094

| $83,228

| 6,336

| 1,970

|-

|

| United States

| Country

| $27,915

| $52,762

| $64,293

| 306,603,772

| 114,761,359

|-

| 18

| Taunton

| City

| $26,309

| $53,401

| $67,447

| 55,930

| 21,799

|-

|

| Acushnet Center

| CDP

| $26,295

| $51,782

| $64,750

| 2,737

| 1,159

|-

|

| Ocean Grove

| CDP

| $25,058

| $60,267

| $72,594

| 3,098

| 1,230

|-

| 19

| New Bedford

| City

| $21,558

| $37,493

| $46,881

| 95,006

| 38,869

|-

| 20

| Fall River

| City

| $21,118

| $34,789

| $44,635

| 89,220

| 38,245

|-

|

| Norton Center

| CDP

| $16,578

| $83,465

| $84,781

| 2,977

| 446

|-

|}

Politics and government

Bristol County has voted for the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in every election since 1960 and, with the exception of Dwight D. Eisenhower's victorious campaigns of 1952 and 1956, for the Democratic nominee since 1928, before which it was a Republican stronghold.

However, in 2024, Republican Donald Trump came the closest to winning the county since 1984 (when Ronald Reagan came within less than 800 votes of winning), with Democrat Kamala Harris winning only 49.6% of the vote. It was also the closest any Massachusetts county came to flipping Republican since 1988, as all counties have been won by the Democratic candidate since 1992.

<!-- PresRow should be -->

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:95%;"

|+ Gubernatorial elections results

|- bgcolor=lightgrey

! Year

! Republican

! Democratic

! Third parties

|-

| style="text-align:center;" |2022

| style="text-align:center;" |44.19% 81,033

| style="text-align:center;" |53.97% 98,969

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.84% 3,388

|-

| style="text-align:center;" |2018

| style="text-align:center;" |70.76% 132,371

| style="text-align:center;" |29.02% 54,280

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.23% 423

|-

| style="text-align:center;" |2014

| style="text-align:center;" |49.70% 72,641

| style="text-align:center;" |45.19% 66,045

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|5.11% 7,471

|-

| style="text-align:center;" |2010

| style="text-align:center;" |42.66% 73,220

| style="text-align:center;" |47.23% 81,059

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|10.11% 17,340

|-

| style="text-align:center;" |2006

| style="text-align:center;" |34.32% 57,233

| style="text-align:center;" |57.33% 95,623

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|8.36% 13,925

|-

| style="text-align:center;" |2002

| style="text-align:center;" |44.99% 71,189

| style="text-align:center;" |50.73% 80,275

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|4.28% 6,779

|}

  • Paul B. Kitchen—County Commissioner
  • John R. Mitchell—County Commissioner
  • John T. Saunders—County Commissioner
  • Thomas M. Quinn, III—District Attorney
  • Paul Heroux—Sheriff
  • Christopher T. Saunders—County Treasurer
  • Barry Amaral—Register of Deeds, Northern District
  • Bernard McDonald—Register of Deeds, Fall River District
  • Frederick M. Kalisz—Register of Deeds, Southern District
  • Marc Santos—Clerk of Courts

The Bristol County Sheriff's Office maintains its administrative headquarters and operates several jail facilities in the Dartmouth Complex in North Dartmouth in Dartmouth. Jail facilities in the Dartmouth Complex include the Bristol County House Of Correction and Jail, the Bristol County Sheriff's Office Women's Center, and the C. Carlos Carreiro Immigration Detention Center. The office also operates the Ash Street Jail and Regional Lock-Up and the Juvenile Secure Alternative Lock Up Program (JALP) in New Bedford.

The Bristol County House Of Correction and Jail has room for 1,100 prisoners. It houses men convicted of crimes who have been sentenced to years or less. It also houses high-security male pre-trial prisoners, high-security female prisoners, and pre-trial female prisoners.

|-

|

| Unenrolled

| align = center |

| align = center |

|-

|

| Democratic

| align = center |

| align = center |

|-

|

| Republican

| align = center |

| align = center |

|-

|

| Libertarian

| align = center |

| align = center |

|-

|

| Other parties

| align = center |

| align = center |

|-

! colspan = 2 | Total

! align = center |

! align = center |

|}

Twin town

The county is twinned with the municipality of Lagoa in the Azores.

Transportation

Transportation authorities providing public bus service include the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority; and the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority serving the Fall River and New Bedford areas.

Airports include the Mansfield Municipal Airport, Myricks Airport, New Bedford Municipal Airport and Taunton Municipal Airport; of these, the New Bedford airport is a commercial airport, with flights serving the Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard area.

The Providence/Stoughton Line of the MBTA commuter rail has stops in Mansfield, Attleboro, and South Attleboro. The line provides connections to Providence and Boston (at Back Bay Station and South Station), as well as intermediate stops. An extension has been completed that connects to T. F. Green Airport.

The Fall River/New Bedford Line also runs through Bristol County. With stops at East Taunton station, Freetown station, Fall River Depot, Church Street Station and New Bedford station.

Major highways

Communities

right|250px|thumb|Bristol County Superior Courthouse in [[Taunton, Massachusetts|Taunton.]]

thumb|An 1851 map of Bristol County, Massachusetts

Cities

  • Attleboro
  • Fall River
  • New Bedford
  • Taunton (county seat)

Towns

  • Acushnet
  • Berkley
  • Dartmouth
  • Dighton
  • Easton
  • Fairhaven
  • Freetown
  • Mansfield
  • North Attleborough
  • Norton
  • Raynham
  • Rehoboth
  • Seekonk
  • Somerset
  • Swansea
  • Westport

Census-designated places

  • Acushnet Center
  • Bliss Corner
  • Mansfield Center
  • North Seekonk
  • North Westport
  • Norton Center
  • Ocean Grove
  • Raynham Center
  • Smith Mills

Other villages

  • Assonet
  • Attleboro Falls
  • Bowensville
  • Britannia
  • East Freetown
  • East Taunton
  • Fall River Station
  • Five Corners
  • Flint Village
  • Four Corners
  • Globe Village
  • Gushee Pond
  • Highlands
  • Hixville
  • Hornbine
  • Hortonville
  • Kingmans Corner
  • Myricks
  • North Attleborough Center
  • North Raynham
  • North Rehoboth
  • North Taunton
  • Oakland
  • Padanaram
  • Pecks Corner
  • Perrys Corner
  • Perryville
  • Pleasantfield
  • Pleasant Street
  • Pottersville
  • Prattville
  • Ramblewood
  • Rehoboth
  • Sassaquin
  • South Attleboro
  • South Rehoboth
  • Squawbetty
  • Steep Brook
  • Titicut
  • Tracy Corner
  • Wade's Corner
  • Weir Village
  • Westville
  • Whittenton
  • Whittenton Junction

Ghost town

  • Norton Furnace

Education

School districts include:

K–12:

  • Attleboro School District
  • Bridgewater-Raynham School District
  • Dartmouth School District
  • Dighton-Rehoboth School District
  • Easton School District
  • Fairhaven School District - Takes Acushnet for secondary school
  • Fall River School District
  • Freetown-Lakeville School District
  • Mansfield School District
  • New Bedford School District - Takes Acushnet for secondary school
  • North Attleborough School District
  • Norton School District
  • Seekonk School District
  • Swansea School District
  • Taunton School District
  • Westport School District

Secondary:

  • Somerset-Berkley School District

Elementary:

  • Acushnet School District
  • Berkley School District
  • Somerset School District

Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational-Technical High School is also in the county.

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Stonehill College are in the county.

See also

  • Administrative divisions of Massachusetts
  • Registry of Deeds (Massachusetts)
  • Bristol Community College
  • Horseneck Beach State Reservation
  • Freetown-Fall River State Forest
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Bristol County, Massachusetts
  • Southern New England School of Law
  • Taunton River
  • Taunton River Watershed
  • University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
  • Wheaton College

References

Further reading

  • History of Bristol County, Massachusetts with Biographical Sketches of many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 1 edited by Duane Hamilton Hurd. J.W. Lewis and Co., 1883. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uauYBOCKCS0C]
  • A history of Bristol County, Massachusetts, Volume 1 by Frank Walcott Hutt. Lewis Historical Pub. Co., Inc., 1924.
  • US Census Bureau map of cities, towns, Native American reservations, and census-designated places