Welcome to New Bedford ...
The coastal city of New Bedford is located in Bristol County<1>.
New Bedford was settled in 1640.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, New Bedford has a population of 95,432 people<2> (see below for details).
The community of New Bedford is 70 feet [21 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: New Bedford lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Codes for New Bedford: 508 & 774<4>
The ZIP codes for New Bedford: 02740-02742, 02744-02746<5>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, New Bedford had an population of 95,432 people. This is an increase of 0.38% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 1.77% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, New Bedford had a population of 95,072 people (or 17.31% of the total population of Bristol County). This makes New Bedford the county's most populous community.
The population of New Bedford represents 1.45% of the population of Massachusetts (which has 6,547,629 people), making it the state's 6th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 95,072 people, the population of New Bedford increased 1.39% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 93,768 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for New Bedford.
Communities Also Named New Bedford ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 6 communities that are also named New Bedford - they are located in Illinois, Kansas, New Jersey, Ohio (2) and Pennsylvania.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for New Bedford.
Websites for New Bedford ...
Official Website: www.ci.new-bedford.ma.us/
Chamber of Commerce: www.newbedfordchamber.com/
Communities near New Bedford ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near New Bedford.
- Fall River
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Fall River is located in Bristol County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 89,792 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Fall River
- From New Bedford to Fall River
- Falmouth
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth
- Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 31,107 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Falmouth
- From New Bedford to Falmouth
- Middleborough
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleborough
- Middleborough is located in Plymouth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 25,722 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Middleborough
- From New Bedford to Middleborough
- Wareham
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast) - Bristol
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west) - Bourne
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast) - Somerset
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset
- Somerset is located in Bristol County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,144 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Somerset
- From New Bedford to Somerset
- Portsmouth
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Portsmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portsmouth
- Portsmouth is located in Newport County (RI)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,108 people
- Swansea
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Swansea. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<7>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swansea
- Swansea is located in Bristol County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,000 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Swansea
- From New Bedford to Swansea
- Westport
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around New Bedford. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for New Bedford.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of New Bedford. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around New Bedford.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around New Bedford. Our list includes 89 papers. See our Newspapers Page for New Bedford.
Adding New Bedford to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of New Bedford in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for New Bedford was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
X2X - From that list, the New Bedford post office opened in 1792.
We also found New Bedford in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (1803).
For more details, see References and Mentions for New Bedford.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for New Bedford: www.ci.new-bedford.ma.us/
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Massachusetts' counties, including Bristol, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for New Bedford. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around New Bedford - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 508 code has been Overlayed with the 774 area code. New phone numbers in the New Bedford area will be assigned with one of these codes: 508 or 774. As a result, placing a call in the New Bedford area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <5> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as New Bedford). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether New Bedford or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for New Bedford includes: 02740, 2741, 02744, 2745 & 02746. |
| <6> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <7> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |