Census-designated place · Bristol County, Massachusetts

Somerset, Massachusetts

Somerset is a census-designated place in Bristol County, Massachusetts, part of the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area. It has 18,298 residents. Somerset, Massachusetts has a quality-of-life score of 74 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,110 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Massachusetts it ranks #169 of 225 cities and towns. It ranks best on uninsured residents (under 65) (low), mammography screening (high) and mental health providers (high). It ranks worst on child care cost burden (high), preventable hospital stays (high) and new business applications (low).

74High

Quality-of-life score: #4,110 of 15,651 cities and towns
Massachusetts: #169 of 225 in MA
Population: 18,298 (2020-2024)
Land area: 8 mi²
Density: 2,316.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 2562465

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety64#5,646/15,637
Economy76#3,776/15,631
Housing20#11,958/14,977
Health67#5,112/15,609
Healthcare82#2,754/15,650
Environment96#595/15,453
Education80#3,202/15,649
Infrastructure52#7,467/15,650
Community51#7,708/15,651
Leisure & amenities43#8,876/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Somerset, Massachusetts ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Bristol 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

Uninsured residents (under 65) · low0.8%
98/100Massachusetts 3.3%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty
Mammography screening · high58.0%
97/100Massachusetts 54.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBristol County value
Mental health providers · high617 /100k
94/100Massachusetts 787 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBristol County value
Firearm deaths · low3.6 /100k
94/100Massachusetts 3.5 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataBristol County value
Child poverty rate · low5.5%
91/100Massachusetts 11.4%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Suicide rate · low8.4 /100k
91/100Massachusetts 8.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataBristol County value

Weaknesses

Child care cost burden · high41.5%
5/100Massachusetts 39.7%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBristol County value
Preventable hospital stays · high4,073 /100k
8/100Massachusetts 3,344 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBristol County value
New business applications · low8.3 /1k
9/100Massachusetts 11.1 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauBristol County value
Average commute time · high31.3 min
9/100Massachusetts 29.1 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Rent-burdened households · high58.3%
19/100Massachusetts 51.8%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Drug overdose deaths · high23.0 /100k
21/100Massachusetts 18.2 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataBristol County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
39.8% (2015-2019) → 58.3% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
27.5% (2015-2019) → 37.6% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$84,115 (2015-2019) → $112,677 (2020-2024)
+34%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Average commute timeWorsening
23.6 min (2015-2019) → 31.3 min (2020-2024)
+33%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
26.2% (2015-2019) → 32.6% (2020-2024)
+6.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
86.2% (2015-2019) → 90.8% (2020-2024)
+4.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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.

Over about five years, Somerset, Massachusetts improved on 3 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 4. 5 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Bachelor's++10 points27.5% → 37.6%
Household income+34%$84,115 → $112,677
Broadband+4.6 points86.2% → 90.8%

Declined4

Commute+7.7 min23.6 min → 31.3 min
Rent burden+18 points39.8% → 58.3%
Rent / income+6.4 points26.2% → 32.6%
Price / income+0.4×3.3× → 3.7×

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Somerset, Massachusetts between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.6 min2015-2019	31.3 min2020-2024	+7.7 min	Declined	4%
Bachelor's degree or higher	27.5%2015-2019	37.6%2020-2024	+10 points	Improved	90%
Broadband subscriptions	86.2%2015-2019	90.8%2020-2024	+4.6 points	Improved	29%
Effective property tax rate	1.36%2015-2019	1.12%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	66%
High school diploma or higher	90.9%2015-2019	92.3%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Home price to income ratio	3.3×2015-2019	3.7×2020-2024	+0.4×	Declined	55%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4082015-2019	0.3992020-2024	−0.009	Within the margin of error	58%
Median household income	$84,1152015-2019	$112,6772020-2024	+34%	Improved	63%
Poverty rate	3.9%2015-2019	4.9%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Rent as share of income	26.2%2015-2019	32.6%2020-2024	+6.4 points	Declined	17%
Rent-burdened households	39.8%2015-2019	58.3%2020-2024	+18 points	Declined	10%
Unemployment rate	3.3%2015-2019	3.3%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	51%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Somerset, Massachusetts five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Somerset, 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.

For comparison, Somerset, Massachusetts itself moved −12.1 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

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).

Age and sex

18,298 residents (±45)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

7,447 households (±284)

Somerset, Massachusetts
Massachusetts share

Under $25k10%772
$25k–50k9.1%†676
$50k–75k10%775

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

7,447 households (±284)

Somerset, Massachusetts
Massachusetts share

Own87%6,475
Rent13%972

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+6.9 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

9,235 workers (±480)

Somerset, Massachusetts
Massachusetts share

Drive alone84%7,791
Carpool2.6%†240
Public transit0.3%†31

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 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA

Local 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.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Bristol County, the county holding most of Somerset's residents.

Bristol County has 13,221 employer establishments, 226 for every 10,000 residents (0.91× the US rate of 248; 0.87× Massachusetts's), with 201,320 paid employees at an average annual pay of $59,037. The Census Bureau also counts 44,408 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 13,221; 44,408 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 226; US 248 · Massachusetts 260
Paid employees: 201,320
Average annual pay: $59,037; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Bristol County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	1,227	20.9	1.35×More than typical	9,156	$81,658	3,447
Restaurants and other eating places	1,109	18.9	1.03×About typical	19,765	$24,418	183
Ambulatory health care services	852	14.5	0.70×Fewer than typical	13,249	$77,276	1,909
Services to buildings and dwellings	529	9	1.34×More than typical	2,258	$61,501	2,041
Building equipment contractors	519	8.9	1.47×More than typical	4,036	$79,727	829
Construction of buildings	475	8.1	1.07×About typical	1,880	$78,413	1,428
Full-service restaurants	450	7.7	1.00×About typical	9,314	$27,856	68
Lessors of real estate	444	7.6	0.61×Fewer than typical	1,350	$52,222	4,312
Limited-service restaurants	428	7.3	0.91×About typical	7,123	$21,987	85
Automotive repair and maintenance	352	6	1.19×About typical	1,678	$53,066	483
Landscaping services	343	5.9	1.67×More than typical	1,065	$86,787	561
Personal care services	335	5.7	1.20×About typical	1,593	$27,877	2,205

Rank places for an industry Open Bristol County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 586,182 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Somerset, Massachusetts: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

82.9KFY2017
12.8KFY2022
12.6KFY2023

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Somerset, Massachusetts, so they do not add up across cities.

Somerset, Massachusetts's figures are part of those of Bristol County, MA ($103.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Somerset is mostly in Bristol County.

See federal money in Bristol County

Representation 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.

Somerset, Massachusetts is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Bristol County72100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Providence-Warwick, RI-MA80

Other cities and towns in Bristol County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

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

JSON · /api/v1/places/2562465

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends