Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Plymouth grades B overall, 180th among Massachusetts's 282 graded towns. It has 577 miles of trail and 27% conserved land. Residents are healthier than 84% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The catch is cost: homes are expensive, about $651K for a typical one and 5.6 times the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. Plymouth’s trail density is 4.3 miles per square mile, above both the Massachusetts town median (1.8) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Its National Register listings include Cole's Hill and Plymouth Rock. Plymouth is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 76% of U.S. towns.
Where Plymouth beats most towns.
Cole's Hill is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier. Its founding year, 1620, is the earliest of any Massachusetts town we grade.
Census counts: 2,995 in 1790, 61,217 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1695 and 8 maps from 1886 on.
23 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Plymouth takes its name from Plymouth in Devon, England, 3,130 miles across the Atlantic.
UKUK editionPlymouth, settled in 1620, takes its name from Plymouth, a city in Devon, England.
1 more U.S. town is named after Plymouth:Plymouth, CT11,902
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Plymouth is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Plymouth. Close and well known come first.
Big draw36 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
in town MuseumPlimoth Patuxet
in town LandmarkNational Monument to the Forefathers
31 mi MuseumUSS Massachusetts
Big draw40 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
40 mi AttractionFreedom TrailGillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Plimoth Patuxet: Tr!sie, CC BY-SA 3.0 · National Monument to the Forefathers: T.S. Custadio aka ToddC4176 at en.wikipedia, Public domain · USS Massachusetts: USN, Public domain · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Plymouth, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Plymouth.
Plymouth is safe by national standards but not by Massachusetts’s and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Massachusetts; it also has a long record of flood insurance claims.
577 miles of trail in 65 parks and preserves. Myles Standish State Forest, at 10,227 acres with 112.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Myles Standish State Forest | 112.2 mi | 10,227 |
| 2. Briggs Property | 9.6 mi | 646 |
| 3. Wildlands Trust - Halfway Pond Conservation Area | 7.5 mi | 454 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Plymouth school district. Three of its 17 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plymouth Commun IntermediateLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 920 | C+ |
| Plymouth North HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,169 | B+ |
| Manomet ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 263 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Within Massachusetts it is less healthy than 58% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar. Against the 6,165 U.S. towns with household incomes like Plymouth’s, it is healthier than 67%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
82% of adults had a checkup this year in Plymouth, against 82% in Massachusetts’ towns and 79% across U.S. towns. Plymouth beats the Massachusetts average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 29% of Plymouth adults have obesity.
| Plymouth | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 82% | 79% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 28% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 33% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 19% | 25% |
| What stands out | Plymouth | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.9% | 5.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.4% | 12.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.6% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
334 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 45 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 87% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 334 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Plymouth.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Plymouth has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Plymouth is 82°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 25% of residents (18% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (24% statewide). Plymouth has grown 11% since 2020, to 67,846 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 17% of residents are under 18 in Plymouth.
| Plymouth | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 25% | 19% | 18% |
| Median age | 47.4 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 17% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 47% | 47% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.2 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 49.2, men 45.7.
| Plymouth | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.9% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.2% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.6% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.6% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.8% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.5% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.3% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.7% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.5% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.1% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.4% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.8% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.7% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
About one in 4 of Plymouth’s working residents works in town. Plymouth’s average trip to work is 31 minutes. Jobs based in Plymouth grew to 23,025 in 2023, 2,265 more than in 2013.
| Plymouth | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 24% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $117,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 18% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 19.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 75% of Massachusetts’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Plymouth home is worth about $651,000, up 4.2% in a year, close to the Massachusetts typical home.
| Plymouth | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,933 a month | $1,682 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 79% | 79% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1 within 15 miles of the center of Plymouth
About 5 of every 100 Plymouth residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
26.8% of the town is conserved land, across 65 parks and preserves.
23 places in Plymouth on the National Register of Historic Places.
40 notable people were born in Plymouth.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Plymouth ( PLIM-əth; historically also spelled as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in and the county seat of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklore, and culture, and is known as "America's Hometown". Plymouth was the site of the colony founded in 1620 by the Mayflower Pilgrims, where New England was first established. It is the oldest municipality in New England and one of the oldest in the United States. The town has served as the location of several prominent events, one of the more notable being the First Thanksgiving feast. Plymouth served as the capital of Plymouth Colony from its…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Plymouth.
Wareham next door grades lower for schools (D to Plymouth’s B−) and higher for cost of living (C+ to D).
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plymouth | #180 | B | D | B− | B− | A− |
| Carver | #231 | C+ | C− | A− | C | B+ |
| Wareham | #247 | C− | C+ | C+ | D | B |
| Duxbury | #39 | A+ | D | A | A− | A+ |
| North Plymouth | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| White Island Shores | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Kingston | #92 | A− | C | B+ | B | A |
| Bourne | #222 | C+ | C− | B− | C | A |
North Plymouth and White Island Shores aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Plymouth with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Plymouth grades B overall, better than 56% of U.S. towns and #180 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A− for health, B− for safety and B− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Massachusetts has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Plymouth sits nearer the middle.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
40 notable people were born here, including Dave Farrell and David Chokachi.
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