Southeastern Massachusetts is a region of Massachusetts located south of Boston and east of Rhode Island. It is commonly used to describe areas with cultural ties to both Boston and Providence, Rhode Island, and includes the cities of New Bedford and Fall River and their respective suburbs. Despite the location of Cape Cod and the islands to its south, which are the southeasternmost parts of the state, they are not often grouped in this designation. At its broadest definition, it includes all of Massachusetts south of Boston, southeast of Worcester, and east of Providence, Rhode Island, while at its narrowest definition, it is Bristol County and the Western portion of Plymouth County. The region including Cape Cod roughly corresponds with the location of the historic Plymouth Colony, which became part of Massachusetts in 1691.
Definition
As Southeastern Massachusetts is not an official designation, its borders are not exactly defined.
At its broadest definition, it includes all of Plymouth and Bristol counties (particularly the South Coast along Buzzards Bay and the South Shore along Cape Cod Bay), most of the cities and towns in Norfolk County, and even some towns in Worcester County. At its narrowest definition, it includes all of Bristol County, the western part of Plymouth County and the southwestern part of Norfolk County, with the South Shore and Metro-South areas being counted separately.
The terms "Southeastern Massachusetts," "Southeastern New England", and "Southern New England" are much-used by Providence-area broadcasters and other local companies and organizations but are not used as frequently in other parts of Massachusetts.
Characteristics
The Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) task force, which concerns Southeastern Massachusetts in its broadest definition, describes: For this effort, southeastern Massachusetts is defined as fifty-two cities and towns from Bristol, Plymouth and Norfolk Counties. The region is geographically defined by Massachusetts Bay, Buzzards Bay, The Taunton River watershed, and its location relative to Boston, Rhode Island and Cape Cod. Bristol County, Massachusetts and Bristol County, Rhode Island are contiguous and are the only counties in the nation where Portuguese Americans make up the plurality of the population. This is due to the Portuguese-American population, the Portuguese-Brazilian population, and the Portuguese-Cape Verdean population that came to Southern New England in the 19th century to do the much needed whaling work; in fact, New Bedford is called "the Whaling City."
...[it] is home to approximately one million people residing in over . We have been adding 10,000 new residents and consuming of undeveloped land each year for the past thirty years, and new transportation improvements (commuter rail, Route 44 and Route 3 & 24 improvements) continue to attract more growth. Southeastern Massachusetts comprises several clearly defined sub-regions, including the South Shore, the South Coast and the Tri-City area around Brockton, Attleboro and Taunton. Despite the diversity within the region, the fifty-two cities and towns all have common concerns and opportunities.
Brockton, Taunton, Fall River, and New Bedford are the largest cities in Southeastern Massachusetts and are close to one another in size. All four have a strong Portuguese presence. In 2000, 43.9% of Fall River residents identified as being of Portuguese heritage. This is the highest percentage of Portuguese Americans in the country. Most of the population claims to be of Azorean origin, many from São Miguel Island. There are smaller, but significant presences of other Portuguese-speaking communities, such as other Azorean Islanders, Portuguese from mainland Portugal, Madeirans, Cape Verdeans, Brazilians, and Angolans. In 2000 New Bedford had the second highest percentage of Portuguese Americans with 38.6% of residents reporting that ancestry. New Bedford is also 8.0% Cape Verdean, 4.39% African American and 7.1% Puerto Rican, and 3% were other Hispanics, In 2000 it was 75% White alone.
Like most of the state, Southeastern Massachusetts is ethnically, racially, linguistically, and religiously diverse. However, Portuguese-speakers are especially well represented in this area (especially Bristol County) due to a pattern of immigration that began in the 19th century and was tied to the whaling industry. Today, many people in Southeastern Massachusetts, most notability Bristol County, trace their ancestry to mainland Portugal and the Azores. Irish Americans dominate Bristol County and Plymouth County which has been known as the "Irish Riviera". Cape Verdean Americans, Brazilian Americans, Angolan Americans, African Americans, Arab Americans, Irish Americans, British Americans, Scottish Americans, Portuguese Americans, Asian Americans, Latin Americans, Spanish Americans, Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, Russian Americans, Turkish Americans, German Americans, Polish Americans, Swedish Americans, French Americans, Lebanese Americans, Italian Americans, and Greek Americans preside over Brockton, Taunton, Fall River and New Bedford.
Cities and towns Municipality Type County Form of government Population (2010) Year established Abington Town Plymouth Open town meeting 15,985 1712 Acushnet Town Bristol Open town meeting 10,303 1860 Aquinnah Town Dukes Open town meeting 311 1870 Attleboro City Bristol Mayor-council 43,593 1694 Avon Town Norfolk Open town meeting 4,356 1888 Barnstable CityOne of 14 municipalities with a city form of government that refers to itself as "The Town of". Barnstable Council-manager 45,193 1639 Bellingham Town Norfolk Open town meeting 16,332 1719 Berkley Town Bristol Open town meeting 6,411 1735 Blackstone Town Worcester Open town meeting 9,026 1845 Bourne Town Barnstable Open town meeting 19,754 1884 Braintree City Norfolk Mayor-council 35,744 1640 Brewster Town Barnstable Open town meeting 9,820 1803 Bridgewater City Plymouth Council-manager 26,563 1656 Brockton City Plymouth Mayor-council 105,643 1821 Canton Town Norfolk Open town meeting 21,561 1797 Carver Town Plymouth Open town meeting 11,509 1790 Chatham Town Barnstable Open town meeting 6,125 1712 Chilmark Town Dukes Open town meeting 866 1714 Cohasset Town Norfolk Open town meeting 7,542 1775 Dartmouth Town Bristol Representative town meeting 34,032 1664 Dedham Town Norfolk Representative town meeting 24,729 1636 Dennis Town Barnstable Open town meeting 14,207 1793 Dighton Town Bristol Open town meeting 7,086 1712 Douglas Town Worcester Open town meeting 8,471 1775 Dover Town Norfolk Open town meeting 5,589 1836 Duxbury Town Plymouth Open town meeting 15,059 1637 East Bridgewater Town Plymouth Open town meeting 13,794 1823 Eastham Town Barnstable Open town meeting 4,956 1646 Easton Town Bristol Open town meeting 23,112 1725 Edgartown Town Dukes Open town meeting 4,067 1671 Fairhaven Town Bristol Representative town meeting 15,873 1812 Fall River City Bristol Mayor-council 88,857 1803 Falmouth Town Barnstable Representative town meeting 31,531 1686 Foxborough Town Norfolk Open town meeting 16,865 1778 Franklin City Norfolk Council-administrator 31,635 1778 Freetown Town Bristol Open town meeting 8,870 1683 Grafton Town Worcester Open town meeting 17,765 1735 Gosnold Town Dukes Open town meeting 75 1864 Halifax Town Plymouth Open town meeting 7,518 1734 Hanover Town Plymouth Open town meeting 13,879 1727 Hanson Town Plymouth Open town meeting 10,209 1820 Harwich Town Barnstable Open town meeting 12,243 1694 Hingham Town Plymouth Open town meeting 22,157 1635 Holbrook Town Norfolk Representative town meeting 10,791 1872 Hopedale Town Worcester Open town meeting 5,911 1886 Hull Town Plymouth Open town meeting 10,293 1644 Kingston Town Plymouth Open town meeting 12,629 1726 Lakeville Town Plymouth Open town meeting 10,602 1853 Mansfield Town Bristol Open town meeting 23,184 1775 Marion Town Plymouth Open town meeting 4,907 1852 Marshfield Town Plymouth Open town meeting 25,132 1640 Mashpee Town Barnstable Open town meeting 14,006 1870 Mattapoisett Town Plymouth Open town meeting 6,045 1857 Medfield Town Norfolk Open town meeting 12,024 1651 Medway Town Norfolk Open town meeting 12,752 1713 Mendon Town Worcester Open town meeting 5,839 1667 Middleborough Town Plymouth Open town meeting 23,116 1669 Milford Town Worcester Representative town meeting 27,999 1780 Millbury Town Worcester Open town meeting 13,261 1813 Millis Town Norfolk Open town meeting 7,891 1885 Millville Town Worcester Open town meeting 3,190 1916 Milton Town Norfolk Representative town meeting 27,003 1662 Nantucket Town Nantucket Open town meeting 10,172 1671 New Bedford City Bristol Mayor-council 95,072 1787 Norfolk Town Norfolk Open town meeting 11,227 1870 North Attleborough Town Bristol Representative town meeting 28,712 1887 Northbridge Town Worcester Open town meeting 15,707 1775 Norton Town Bristol Open town meeting 19,031 1711 Norwell Town Plymouth Open town meeting 10,506 1849 Norwood Town Norfolk Representative town meeting 28,602 1872 Oak Bluffs Town Dukes Open town meeting 4,527 1880 Orleans Town Barnstable Open town meeting 5,890 1797 Pembroke Town Plymouth Open town meeting 17,837 1712 Plainville Town Norfolk Open town meeting 8,264 1905 Plymouth Town Plymouth Representative town meeting 56,468 1620 Plympton Town Plymouth Open town meeting 2,820 1707 Provincetown Town Barnstable Open town meeting 2,942 1727 Quincy City Norfolk Mayor-council 92,271 1792 Randolph City Norfolk Council-manager 32,112 1793 Raynham Town Bristol Open town meeting 13,383 1731 Rehoboth Town Bristol Open town meeting 11,608 1645 Rochester Town Plymouth Open town meeting 5,232 1686 Rockland Town Plymouth Open town meeting 17,489 1874 Sandwich Town Barnstable Open town meeting 20,675 1638 Scituate Town Plymouth Open town meeting 18,133 1636 Seekonk Town Bristol Open town meeting 13,722 1812 Sharon Town Norfolk Open town meeting 17,612 1775 Somerset Town Bristol Open town meeting 18,165 1790 Stoughton Town Norfolk Representative town meeting 26,962 1726 Sutton Town Worcester Open town meeting 8,963 1714 Swansea Town Bristol Open town meeting 15,865 1667 Taunton City Bristol Mayor-council 55,874 1639 Tisbury Town Dukes Open town meeting 3,949 1671 Truro Town Barnstable Open town meeting 2,003 1709 Upton Town Worcester Open town meeting 7,542 1735 Uxbridge Town Worcester Open town meeting 13,457 1727 Walpole Town Norfolk Representative town meeting 24,070 1724 Wareham Town Plymouth Open town meeting 21,822 1739 Wellfleet Town Barnstable Open town meeting 2,750 1775 West Bridgewater Town Plymouth Open town meeting 6,916 1822 West Tisbury Town Dukes Open town meeting 2,740 1892 Westport Town Bristol Open town meeting 15,532 1787 Westwood Town Norfolk Open town meeting 14,618 1897 Weymouth City Norfolk Mayor-council 53,743 1635 Whitman Town Plymouth Open town meeting 14,489 1875 Wrentham Town Norfolk Open town meeting 10,955 1673 Yarmouth Town Barnstable Open town meeting 23,793 1639
The following tabular list shows the 12 government divisions of Southeastern Massachusetts which have been officially granted the right to use the city form of government along with the official name in use by each municipality.The main source for the table is the Massachusetts Municipal Association 2009-2010 Municipal Directory . The MMA Directory is not an official state document, but is more up to date and specific than the official list from the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth's office, which is dated 03-11-2008 and does not include Palmer, Randolph and Winthrop, which have since adopted the city form of government.