Quality of Life
We offer a wide variety and nearly exhausting quantity of recreational and cultural activities, and of some of the region’s best cafés and restaurants—many within easy walking distance of each other. The expanded coastal region is rich in history and opportunities at a fraction of the cost from surrounding metro cities.
Value
In 2021, the median sale price for a home in the Commonwealth was $555,000, in Boston: $750,000 and in New Bedford: $329,900
$15.51/sq ft office rents
$14.00/sq ft retail rents
$1,602 median contract housing rent
Health & Wellbeing
Southcoast Health is one of the largest, fastest growing health systems in MA, serving more than 719,000 residents in 33 communities, with over 600 physicians, covering over 900 square miles
Six major parks, 24 neighborhood parks, over 12 miles of trails and bikeways, 26 acres of beaches, numerous public and private baseball, football, and soccer fields. Most residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park
Complete Streets ordinance passed in 2016
Safe Routes to School Program
The Blue Lane is a cohesive designation for the city’s waterfront path from the CoveWalk and HarborWalk along the South End peninsula to the planned RiverWalk on the banks of the Acushnet River in the North End
New Bedford Farmer’s Market, three locations with 18 vendors
New Bedford was one of only 53 communities to earn five Gold Medals in Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Program
Education
UMass Dartmouth’s College of Visual & Performing Arts downtown campus, and School for Marine Science Technology (SMAST) West are prominently located in the city and are just a 5-minute drive from main campus
Bristol Community College downtown campus, and future home of Offshore Wind institute
NBPS serves 13,000 students within 19 neighborhood elementary schools, three state-of-the-art district middle schools, and one comprehensive high school, a regional vocational high school, and a variety of charter and private schools all within the city
Arts & Culture
New Bedford’s first-ever strategic Arts + Culture Plan was published in December 2018: New Bedford Creative: our Art, our Culture, our Future
Seaport Cultural District, a walkable area along the waterfront and downtown that spans 30+ blocks, contains 50 cultural attractions, 50 creative enterprises, and over 50 works of public art.
13-acre National Historical Park, an exemplary national model of partnership and community collaboration
The Zeiterion Performing Arts Center serves 111,000 patrons a year and can measure a $3.8 million impact on the local economy
The Whaling Museum and the National Park see more than 170,000 visitors annually that support our great downtown restaurants and retail establishments
A Community Preservation Act city rich in culture, maritime, and textile history
Over 300 cultural events and festivals per year, including the largest Portuguese Festival in the country and biggest Cape Verdean Parade in the United States
150 artists working throughout the city that draw collectors and buyers from New York, Boston, Providence, Cape Cod and the Islands, and more
The largest selection of antiques and collectibles in the northeast with over 200,000 square feet of showroom space
Ranked the 7th Most Artistic City in America by Richard Florida, Atlantic Magazine
Named the most creative community in the state by the Massachusetts Cultural Council
Named one of the dozen Distinctive Destinations in the US by the National Trust for Historic Preservation
Buttonwood Park Zoo, named by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums as “one of the finest small zoos in the United States.” Visited by more than 120,000 times a year
