Southeastern Massachusetts
| Southeastern Massachusetts | |
|---|---|
| Region of Massachusetts | |
| Country |
 United States
|
| State |
 Massachusetts
|
| Largest city (population) | New Bedford (95,072) |
| Largest city (land) | Taunton (50 square miles) |
| Subregions | South Shore, Cape Cod and Islands, South Coast |
Southeastern Massachusetts consists of those portions of Massachusetts that are, by their proximity, economically and culturally linked to Providence, Rhode Island as well as Boston. Despite the location of Cape Cod and the islands to its south, which are the southeasternmost parts of the state, they are not normally grouped in this designation. At its broadest definition, it includes all of Massachusetts south of Boston and southeast of Worcester.
As Southeastern Massachusetts is not an official designation, its borders are not exactly defined.
Almost certainly, it includes all of Bristol County, Massachusetts, particularly the South Coast along Buzzards Bay, as well as Norfolk County towns on the Rhode Island border such as Bellingham, Plainville, and Wrentham and potentially some towns in Plymouth County.
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.
The Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) task force, which concerns Southeastern Massachusetts in its broadest definition, describes:
For this effort, southeastern [sic] 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 [sic] 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."
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Wikipedia