Demographics

thumb|New North Church

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates, there are 24,284 people and 8,873 households in the town. The population density was . There were 7,368 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.5% White, 0.40% Black or African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.88% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population.

There were 7,189 households, out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.7% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.8% were non-families. 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.7% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.

The median household income in the town was $142,435 (mean household income was $206,876), and the median family income was $198,900 (mean family income was $265,292) in 2019. Males had a median income of $66,802 versus $41,370 for females. The per capita income in 2019 for the town was $78,301. About 2.4% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Top employers

According to the Town's 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the town are:

{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1"

|-

! #

! Employer

! # of employees

|-

|1

|Blue Cross/Blue Shield

|1,494

|-

|2

|Town of Hingham

|1,081

|-

|3

|Linden Ponds

|760

|-

|4

|Serono Laboratories

|450

|-

|5

|Talbots

|410

|-

|6

|Whole Foods

|221

|-

|7

|Russ Electric

|203

|-

|6

|Harbor House

|181

|-

|9

|Stop & Shop

|179

|-

|10

|Eat Well

|175

|-

|}

Government

thumb|[[Loring Hall Cinema|Loring Hall, Main Street]]

On the national level, Hingham is a part of Massachusetts's 8th congressional district, and is currently represented by Stephen F. Lynch. The state's senior member of the United States Senate is Elizabeth Warren. The state's junior Senator is Ed Markey, who was elected in a special election in 2013 to fill the seat vacated by John Kerry being appointed as United States Secretary of State.

On the state level, Hingham is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a part of the Third Plymouth district, by Joan Meschino. The district also includes Cohasset, Hull and North Scituate. The town is represented in the Massachusetts Senate as a part of the Plymouth and Norfolk district, by Patrick O'Connor. The district also includes the towns of Cohasset, Duxbury, Hull, Marshfield, Norwell, Scituate and Weymouth. The town is patrolled on a secondary basis by the First (Norwell) Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police.

Hingham is governed on the local level by the open town meeting form of government, and is led by a town administrator and a three-member select board. The members of the board of selectmen are William Ramsey, Liz Klein, and Joe Fisher. The town hall is located in the former Central Junior High School building, which it moved into in 1995. The town has its own police and fire departments, with a central police station next to the town hall and fire houses located near the town common, in West Hingham, and in South Hingham. The town's nearest hospital is South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, where all emergency calls are sent. There are two post offices in town, one in downtown Hingham on North Street and another in South Hingham right on Route 53. The town's public library is located on Leavitt Street in Center Hingham, and is part of the Old Colony Library Network.

{| class=wikitable

! colspan = 6 | Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 15, 2008

|-

! colspan = 2 | Party

! Number of Voters

! Percentage

|-

|

| Democratic

| align = center | 4,101

| align = center | 25.63%

|-

|

| Republican

| align = center | 2,976

| align = center | 18.60%

|-

|

| Unaffiliated

| align = center | 8,870

| align = center | 55.43%

|-

|

| Libertarian

| align = center | 56

| align = center | 0.35%

|-

! colspan = 2 | Total

! align = center | 16,003

! align = center | 100%

|}

Infrastructure

Education

Hingham is home to seven public schools:

  • Hingham High School
  • South Shore Educational Collaborative
  • Hingham Middle School
  • East Elementary School
  • Foster Elementary School
  • Plymouth River Elementary School
  • South Elementary School

Hingham is home to five private schools:

  • Derby Academy
  • Notre Dame Academy
  • St. Paul School
  • Old Colony Montessori School
  • Su Escuela Language Academy

Transportation

thumb|South Street, Hingham

A small portion of Route 3 passes through the southwestern corner of town, with one exit in town and another at Route 228 just south of the town line. Routes 3A and 53 also cross through the town, the latter mirroring the path of Route 3. Route 228 passes from north to south in town; the rest all pass from west to east.

Public transportation is currently served by MBTA ferry route F2H and F1 service from the Hingham Shipyard to Rowes Wharf in downtown Boston, MBTA bus routes and , and the MBTA Commuter Rail Greenbush Line service to Boston South Station with stops at and . There is no air service in the town; the nearest airport is Logan International Airport in Boston as well as smaller public airports in Norwood and Marshfield.

Notable people

thumb|Historical marker, Samuel Lincoln House

thumb|Old Burying Ground

Hingham's most famous line of citizens came from two unrelated families named Lincoln who emigrated to Massachusetts from the English county of Norfolk in the seventeenth century, from Hingham and Swanton Morley, respectively. A bridge in Hingham over Route 3, the Southeast Expressway, is named after American Revolutionary War General Benjamin Lincoln of the Swanton branch. General Lincoln is best remembered for accepting Cornwallis's sword of surrender at the Siege of Yorktown. But the most famous Hingham Lincoln never lived in the town: United States President and Civil War Commander-in-Chief Abraham Lincoln, descended from one of several Lincoln families who settled in Hingham – and unrelated to General Benjamin. A bronze statue, a replica of the famous sitting Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. sits at the foot of Lincoln Street at North Street.

<!-- Please respect alphabetical order -->

  • Tony Amonte, retired hockey player in the NHL
  • John F. Andrew, 19th century United States Congressman
  • Joanna Barnes, actress
  • Bill Belichick owns a house in Hingham in the Black Rock Country Club residential community
  • Matty Beniers, current ice hockey player in the NHL. The first ever draft pick by the Seattle Kraken
  • Thomas Tracy Bouvé, merchant and president of the Boston Society of Natural History
  • Brian Boyle, Former ice hockey player in the NHL
  • Wilmon Brewer, lifelong Hingham author and philanthropist
  • Mary A. Brinkman, homeopathic physician
  • Marc Brown, author, illustrator, and creator of the children's television show Arthur
  • Prescott Bush Jr., brother of 41st President George H. W. Bush and Uncle of 43rd President George W. Bush
  • Herbert L. Foss, recipient of the Medal of Honor in the Spanish–American War
  • Bob Graham, former governor and senator from Florida and a 2004 presidential candidate resided part time in Hingham
  • Harold Hackett, four-time U.S. Open tennis doubles champion
  • Lloyd P. Jones, Bethlehem Steel executive and son of Willard F. Jones, resided with his family in Hingham while working at the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
  • King Kelly, 19th Century Baseball Hall of Fame. Given a home on Main Street, Hingham by loving fans of Boston. Slide, Kelly, Slide (Scarecrow Press 1996)
  • Bruce H. Mann, Harvard Law School professor and husband of presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren
  • David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize winning author and historian resided part-time in Hingham
  • Pierre McGuire, ice hockey analyst and former NHL coach and scout
  • Marty McInnis, retired hockey player in the NHL
  • Alice Merryweather, Olympic alpine skier
  • Jay O'Brien, ice hockey player
  • Judson Pratt, stage, film and television actor
  • Dallas Lore Sharp, professor at Boston University, settled with his family (including Waitstill Sharp) in Hingham. He wrote magazine articles on native birds and small mammals, and books. Much of his writing celebrated Hingham's natural beauty.
  • Jerald Walker, Guggenheim winning author and National Book Award Finalist

References

  • Hingham Historical Society
  • Hingham Public Library
  • Early Settlers of Hingham, History of Hingham, 1893
  • History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts, Vol. I, Thomas Tracy Bouvé and others, Published by the Town, 1893
  • Hingham's Civil War monuments at Massachusetts Civil War Monuments Project