Sell Your Commercial Property In Bristol County, MA

Who rents in Bristol County

Renters head 88,176 of the 233,825 occupied households in Bristol County, a 37.7% share in the 2020-2024 ACS. Owners hold the remaining 145,649 households. Statewide, Massachusetts renters make up 37.5% of households, almost identical to Bristol County's rate.

Most of that renter base concentrates in two cities. New Bedford counts 25,231 renter households, 28.6% of the Bristol County total, while Fall River adds 27,167, or 30.8%. Together New Bedford and Fall River hold 59.4% of all renter households in Bristol County. Taunton follows with 9,118 renter households, a 10.3% share, then Attleboro at 6,058 (6.9%) and North Attleborough at 3,625 (4.1%).

Rents, growth and affordability

Bristol County's median gross rent climbed 38.2%, from $901 to $1,245, between the 2015-2019 and 2020-2024 surveys. Population grew far more slowly, up 3.8% to 582,270 residents, an increase of 21,233 people. Renter households rose 8.3%, adding 6,772 households over the same span.

Units in buildings of five or more apartments grew 6.4% in Bristol County, an increase of 2,460 units. Employment rose 3.3%, adding 9,256 jobs. Rent burden runs heavy: 52.2% of Bristol County renters paid 30% or more of income on gross rent in the 2020-2024 ACS, close to the 51.8% Massachusetts rate.

Bristol County rent still trails the state by a wide margin. Its $1,245 median gross rent sits $517 below the $1,762 Massachusetts median. HUD's FY2027 two-bedroom Fair Market Rent across the county's 20 towns ranges from $1,668 to $2,589, well above the county's current median.

City-by-city comparison

Fall River carries the highest renter share among Bristol County's covered cities, at 64.7%, with 30.0% of its units in 5+ unit buildings. New Bedford follows at 59.7% renters. Attleboro and North Attleborough, the county's two suburban towns in this table, lean more toward owners, with renter shares under 34%.

Rent runs highest in Attleboro, at $1,590, and lowest in New Bedford, at $1,137. Vacancy stays low across every covered city, from North Attleborough's 0.0% to Fall River's 2.9%, well under the 3.5% Massachusetts rate.

Property taxes and assessment in Bristol County

Massachusetts assesses rental property at fair cash value under M.G.L. c.59 Sec.38, with each city or town's local assessors setting values and classifying parcels as residential, open space, commercial or industrial. Proposition 2 1/2, M.G.L. c.59 Sec.21C, caps the total property tax levy at 2.5% of a community's full valuation and limits yearly levy growth to 2.5% plus new construction, unless voters approve an override.

Bristol County has no countywide assessor; each of its cities and towns, from Fall River to Attleboro, sets its own rate within that state cap. A seller should also plan for the state's deed excise tax under M.G.L. c.64D Sec.1, $2 per $500 of consideration, due at closing.

What this means if you sell in Bristol County

When you sell commercial property in Bristol County, MA, you are selling into a market where renters hold 37.7% of households and vacancy sits at a tight 2.1%. That scarcity usually supports steady occupancy for apartment buyers, even though only 16.8% of the county's housing sits in 5+ unit buildings. New Bedford and Fall River, with their larger renter shares, tend to draw the most buyer interest for multifamily assets.

Massachusetts has no rent control; M.G.L. c.40P bars cities and towns from enacting it, so buyers underwrite rent growth off the open market rather than a capped schedule. Expect buyers to also review the Proposition 2 1/2 levy limit and each town's current tax rate before they price a building.

As a multifamily buyer in Bristol County, we review apartment buildings from Attleboro to Fall River as they stand today. Send a current rent roll, a T-12 and the latest tax bill, and we will price the property on those numbers.