Plymouth County, Massachusetts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Plymouth County, Massachusetts | |
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| Map | |
 Location in the state of Massachusetts |
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 Massachusetts's location in the USA |
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| Statistics | |
| Founded | 1685 |
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| Seat | Plymouth and Brockton |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
1,093 sq mi (2,832 km²) 661 sq mi (1,712 km²) 433 sq mi (1,120 km²), 39.56% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
472,822 715/sq mi (276/km²) |
Plymouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of 2000, the population was 472,822. Its county seats [1] are Plymouth and Brockton6. The executive authority of the County government is vested in the County Commissioners. The current Commissioners are Chairman Jeffrey M. Welch (D- Abington), John Patrick Riordan, Jr. (D- Marshfield), and Timothy J. McMullen (D- Pembroke). Register of Deeds John R. Buckley, Jr. (D- Brockton) County Treasurer Thomas J. O'Brien (D- Kingston) and Sheriff Joseph D. McDonald (R- Kingston), also serve as elected officials of the county of Plymouth.
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[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,832 km² (1,093 mi²). 1,712 km² (661 mi²) of it is land and 1,120 km² (433 mi²) of it (39.56%) is water.
[edit] Adjacent Counties
- Norfolk County (northwest)
- Barnstable County (southeast)
- Bristol County (west)
Plymouth County has no land border with Suffolk County to the north, but the two counties share a water boundary in the middle of Massachusetts Bay.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 472,822 people, 168,361 households, and 122,398 families residing in the county. The population density was 276/km² (716/mi²). There were 181,524 housing units at an average density of 106/km² (275/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.70% White, 4.56% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.92% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.06% from other races, and 2.52% from two or more races. 2.44% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 168,361 households out of which 36.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.00% were married couples living together, 11.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.30% were non-families. 22.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.23.
In the county the population was spread out with 26.80% under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 30.40% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 11.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $55,615, and the median income for a family was $65,554. Males had a median income of $45,535 versus $31,389 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,789. About 4.90% of families and 6.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.30% of those under age 18 and 7.90% of those age 65 or over.
The leading ancestry group in Plymouth County is Irish, with 31%. Plymouth County, along with Norfolk County, Massachusetts, claims the highest percentage of people with Irish ancestry in the United States.[1]
[edit] County Seal
The seal was adopted by the Plymouth County Commissioners on March 31, 1931 under the authority of the General Laws, Chapter 34, Section 14, and was designed by Frederic T. Bailey of North Scituate who was, at that time and for many years, Chairman of the county commissioners.
[edit] Cities, towns, and villages*
- Abington
- Bridgewater
- Brockton
- Carver
- Duxbury
- -- Cedar Crest (a village of Duxbury)
- -- South Duxbury (a village of Duxbury)
- East Bridgewater
- Halifax
- Hanover
- Hanson
- Hingham
- Hull
- Kingston
- Lakeville
- -- North Lakeville (a village of Lakeville)
- Marion
- -- Marion Center (a village of Marion)
- Marshfield
- -- Brant Rock (a village of Marshfield)
- -- Green Harbor (a village of Marshfield)
- -- Marshfield Hills (a village of Marshfield)
- -- Ocean Bluff (a village of Marshfield)
- Mattapoisett
- -- Mattapoisett Center (a village of Mattapoisett)
- Middleborough
- -- Middleborough Center (a village of Middleborough)
- Norwell
- Pembroke
- -- North Pembroke (a village of Pembroke)
- Plymouth
- -- North Plymouth (a village of Plymouth)
- -- White Island Shores (a village of Plymouth)
- Plympton
- Rochester
- Rockland
- Scituate
- -- North Scituate (a village of Scituate)
- Wareham
- -- Onset (a village of Wareham)
- -- Wareham Center (a village of Wareham)
- -- West Wareham (a village of Wareham)
- -- Weweantic (a village of Wareham)
- West Bridgewater
- Whitman
* Villages are census division, but have no separate corporate existence from the towns they are in.
[edit] External links
- National Register of Historic Places listing for Plymouth County, Massachusetts
- Map of cities and towns of Massachusetts
[edit] Footnote
- ^ The term shire town is the statutory term for the Massachusetts town having a county court and administration offices, but county seat is the standard term used in general communications by the Massachusetts government. See, for example: Secretary of the Commonwealth: A Listing of Counties and the Cities and Towns Within http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cisctlist/ctlistcoun.htm.
