Plymouth County vs Suffolk County

Two neighbouring counties in Massachusetts, compared on population, size, income and housing. They share 16 mi of border.

Plymouth County

Massachusetts

Suffolk County

Massachusetts

Both outlines are drawn at true relative size. Plymouth County spans about 76.8 km at its widest.

Side by side

Plymouth County, Massachusetts and Suffolk County, Massachusetts on shared measures. The middle column is the difference, computed from the two figures either side of it.
MeasurePlymouth CountyDifferenceSuffolk County
Population546,829-30.9%791,891
Change since 20203.5%+3.4 pp0.1%
Land area658.5 sq mi+1030.4%58.3 sq mi
Population density830 per sq mi-93.9%13,593 per sq mi
Median household income$114,201+19.4%$95,631
Median home value$556,000-21.2%$705,800
Median age43.0+26.8%33.9
Households203,141-37.9%327,167
Housing units218,096-39.0%357,290

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026; US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. The difference column is computed here: the first county's figure against the second, expressed as a percentage of the second. The change-since-2020 row is the exception: two growth rates differ in percentage points (pp), not percent. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

What the numbers say

  • Suffolk County holds about 1.4 times the population of Plymouth County: 791,891 against 546,829.
  • Plymouth County covers more ground, at 658.5 square miles against 58.3.
  • Suffolk County is the more crowded of the two, at 13,593 people per square mile against 830.
  • Median household income is higher in Plymouth County, by 18,570 dollars a year.
  • Since 2020, Plymouth County has grown by 3.5% and Suffolk County has grown by 0.1%.
  • They share 16 mi of common border, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which almost no other county reference presents.

Full pages

Want a different pair? Compare any two of the 3,144 US counties.

Rebuilt from source data 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.