Plymouth County, Massachusetts | ||
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Location in the U.S. state of Massachusetts |
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Massachusetts's location in the U.S. |
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Founded | 1685 | |
Seat | Plymouth and Brockton | |
Largest city | Brockton | |
Area | ||
• Total | 1,093 sq mi (2,831 km2) | |
• Land | 659 sq mi (1,707 km2) | |
• Water | 434 sq mi (1,124 km2), 40% | |
Population | ||
• (2010) | 494,919 | |
• Density | 751/sq mi (290/km²) | |
Congressional districts | 4th, 8th, 9th | |
Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 | |
Website | www |
Plymouth County is a county in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2010 census, the population was 494,919. Its county seats are Plymouth and Brockton. In 1685 the County was created by the Plymouth General Court, the legislature of Plymouth Colony, predating its annexation by the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Plymouth County is part of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metropolitan Statistical Area.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,093 square miles (2,830 km2), of which 659 square miles (1,710 km2) is land and 434 square miles (1,120 km2) (40%) is water. It is the third-largest county in Massachusetts by total area.
The towns of Hingham and Hull in Plymouth County extend north of Norfolk County and face onto Massachusetts Bay, sharing a northern water boundary with Suffolk County.
As of the census of 2000, there were 472,822 people, 168,361 households, and 122,398 families residing in the county. The population density was 716 people per square mile (276/km²). There were 181,524 housing units at an average density of 275 per square mile (106/km²). 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. 28.0% were of Irish, 12.8% Italian, 10.6% English and 5.1% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 90.1% spoke English, 2.5% Spanish, 2.3% Portuguese, 1.5% French Creole and 1.0% French as their first language.