Census-designated place · Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Abington, Massachusetts
Abington is a census-designated place in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, part of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area. It has 17,053 residents. Abington, Massachusetts has a quality-of-life score of 85 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,287 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Massachusetts it ranks #120 of 225 cities and towns. It ranks best on mental health providers (high), flu vaccinations (high) and food environment index (high). It ranks worst on average commute time (high), time spent in the emergency room (high) and preventable hospital stays (high).
- Quality-of-life score
- #2,287 of 15,651 cities and towns
- Massachusetts
- #120 of 225 in MA
- Population
- 17,053 (2020-2024)
- Land area
- 10 mi²
- Density
- 1,711.9 /mi²
- FIPS code
- 2500135
Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.
Scores by category
Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.
- Safety68#4,935/15,637
- Economy75#3,921/15,631
- Housing25#11,226/14,977
- Health77#3,627/15,609
- Healthcare82#2,887/15,650
- Environment87#1,953/15,453
- Education86#2,171/15,649
- Infrastructure67#5,151/15,650
- Community80#3,154/15,651
- Leisure & amenities66#5,330/15,651
Strengths · Weaknesses
Indicators where Abington, Massachusetts ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Plymouth County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.
Strengths
- Mental health providers · high666 /100k96/100Massachusetts 787 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePlymouth County value
- Flu vaccinations · high56.0%96/100Massachusetts 55.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePlymouth County value
- Food environment index · high9.394/100Massachusetts 9.3United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePlymouth County value
- Mammography screening · high55.0%91/100Massachusetts 54.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePlymouth County value
- Gyms and fitness centers · high2.0 /10k91/100Massachusetts 1.8 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPlymouth County value
- Mental health care shortage · low0.091/100Massachusetts 1.9United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationPlymouth County value
Weaknesses
- Average commute time · high33.2 min
- Time spent in the emergency room · high236 min7/100Massachusetts 216 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesPlymouth County value
- Preventable hospital stays · high3,588 /100k17/100Massachusetts 3,344 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePlymouth County value
- High ozone days · high3 days21/100Massachusetts 2 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyPlymouth County value
- New business applications · low9.9 /1k
- Home price to income ratio · high4.3×
Trends
The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.
- Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
40.3% (2015-2019) → 50.7% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
- Public transit commutersWorsening
10.2% (2015-2019) → 3.6% (2020-2024)
−6.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%
- Median household incomeImproving
$99,381 (2015-2019) → $125,400 (2020-2024)
+26%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
- Child poverty rateWorsening
3.0% (2015-2019) → 7.4% (2020-2024)
+4.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
- Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.6× (2015-2019) → 4.3× (2020-2024)
+20%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
- Rent as share of incomeWorsening
27.6% (2015-2019) → 30.4% (2020-2024)
+2.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
What changed in five years
How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.
Cities and towns like Abington, Massachusetts five years ago that improved
The places whose measures looked most like those of Abington, Massachusetts in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.
Who lives here
Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).
Income
How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.
Homes
Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.
Getting to work
How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.
Jobs and pay
What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.
Pay in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHLocal businesses
Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.
Federal contracts performed here
Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Abington is mostly in Plymouth County.
See federal money in Plymouth CountyRepresentation in Congress
Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.
County
A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.
Metro area
The metro or micro area the city belongs to.
Other cities and towns in Plymouth County
Largest first.
Similar cities and towns
Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).
- Bridgewater Town, MA85Alike on Commute, Home value, Obesity
- Lakeland South, WA76Alike on Home value, Poor health, Food insecurity
- Mansfield Center, MA82Alike on Transit use, Obesity, Inactivity
- North Attleborough Town, MA84Alike on Commute, Obesity, Inactivity
- Danvers, MA91Alike on Household income, Inactivity, Obesity
Data and sources
Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.
- PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
- Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
- American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
- Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
- Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
- Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
- County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement