Quick Answer
Bridgewater and Raynham share one regional school district, and their typical home values are about $5,000 apart. Bridgewater, in Plymouth County, has its own MBTA station, 50 to 63 minutes from South Station. Raynham, in Bristol County, has no station but has the lower FY2026 tax rate, $11.75 against $12.03, and sits where Route 24, Route 44 and I-495 meet.
Bridgewater and Raynham share a regional school district, and their main town offices are about 6 miles apart in a straight line. The differences are the county, the form of local government, the tax rate and the distance to a train. Every figure in this Bridgewater vs Raynham comparison names its source.
How do Bridgewater and Raynham compare at a glance?
| Category | Bridgewater | Raynham | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| County | Plymouth County | Bristol County | Secretary of the Commonwealth |
| Local government | Nine-member Town Council and Town Manager | Select Board, Town Administrator and Town Meeting | Town websites |
| FY2026 residential tax rate | $12.03 per $1,000 | $11.75 per $1,000 | MA Division of Local Services |
| Tax on a $500,000 assessment | $6,015 a year | $5,875 a year | Calculated from the FY2026 rates |
| Typical home value | $639,000 | $644,000 | Zillow Home Value Index, August 2026 |
| Commuter rail | Bridgewater station, Fall River/New Bedford Line; 50 to 63 minutes to South Station | No station in town; East Taunton station is 71 to 84 minutes from South Station | MBTA weekday schedule, checked October 9, 2026 |
| Station parking | 499 spaces at Bridgewater | 387 spaces at East Taunton | MBTA station pages |
| Highways | Nearby access to Routes 24 and 495 | Routes 24, 44, 138 and 104 and I-495 | Town websites |
| School district | Bridgewater-Raynham Regional, PK to 12 | Bridgewater-Raynham Regional, PK to 12 | MA DESE profiles, 2025-26 |
| Public high school | Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School, 415 Center Street, Bridgewater | The same school, in Bridgewater | MA DESE profiles, 2025-26 |
| Notable public facilities | Bridgewater State University; Olde Scotland Links municipal golf course; Carver's Pond | 300-acre Borden Colony complex; Johnson's Pond | bridgew.edu; town websites |
| Single-family building permits, 2025 | 15 | 47 | Census Building Permits Survey |
Are Bridgewater and Raynham in the same county?
No. Bridgewater is in Plymouth County and Raynham is in Bristol County, according to the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Keep that in mind when you read county-level figures: numbers for Plymouth County include Bridgewater, and numbers for Bristol County include Raynham.
The two are also governed differently. Bridgewater, incorporated in 1656, is listed by the state as a city although it keeps the name Town of Bridgewater. Its website lists a nine-member Town Council and a Town Manager. Raynham, incorporated in 1731, has a Select Board, a Town Administrator and Town Meeting, and zoning changes in Raynham go to a Town Meeting vote.
Which town has lower property taxes, and how do home values compare?
Raynham has the lower rate. The FY2026 residential tax rate is $11.75 per $1,000 of assessed value in Raynham and $12.03 in Bridgewater, according to the Massachusetts Division of Local Services. On a $500,000 assessment that is $5,875 a year in Raynham and $6,015 in Bridgewater, a difference of $140. A rate is not a bill, because the assessed value of the specific house decides what you pay. The guide to FY2026 property tax rates by town shows where both towns fall among their neighbors.
Home values are close. The typical home value is $644,000 in Raynham and $639,000 in Bridgewater (Zillow Home Value Index, August 2026). New building has shifted between the two: Raynham reported permits for 47 single-family homes in 2025 and Bridgewater 15, after 31 and 38 in 2024 (Census Building Permits Survey).
How long is the train to Boston from Bridgewater and from Raynham?
Bridgewater has its own station, at 85 Burrill Avenue on the MBTA Fall River/New Bedford Line. On the weekday schedule checked on October 9, 2026, 16 inbound trains run from Bridgewater to South Station and take 50 to 63 minutes. The three that arrive between 7:30 and 9:05 a.m. take about 55 minutes. The station is in fare Zone 6 and has 499 parking spaces at $4 on weekdays.
Raynham has no station of its own. The same trains stop first at East Taunton, at 1137 County Street in Taunton, which is 71 to 84 minutes from South Station, in fare Zone 8, with 387 parking spaces. From Raynham Town Hall, East Taunton station is about 3.5 miles away in a straight line and Bridgewater station about 6.6 miles. On the same train, the ride from Bridgewater is about 21 to 26 minutes shorter than the ride from East Taunton.
For drivers, each town describes its own highway access. Raynham's website places the town at the crossroads of Routes 24 and 44 and I-495, with Routes 138 and 104 as well. Bridgewater's website describes nearby access to Routes 24 and 495.
Do Bridgewater and Raynham have the same schools?
They share one district. The Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District is a regional district for pre-kindergarten through grade 12 whose member towns are Bridgewater and Raynham. It has eight schools and enrolled 5,458 students in 2025-26, according to state profiles. The elementary and middle schools are split by town. In Bridgewater they are Mitchell Elementary (PK to 2), Williams Intermediate (3 to 5) and the Edward J. O'Donoghue Middle School (6 to 8). In Raynham they are Merrill Elementary (K to 1), LaLiberte Elementary (2 to 4) and Raynham Middle School (5 to 8).
The district's high school is Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School, which serves grades 9 to 12 at 415 Center Street in Bridgewater. Both towns are also members of the Bristol-Plymouth Regional Vocational Technical district. Because the district is the same, schools do not separate these two towns the way taxes and transit do.
What public facilities does each town have?
Bridgewater is home to Bridgewater State University, founded in 1840, which reports 10,349 undergraduate and graduate students at its 131 Summer Street campus. The town's website lists the Olde Scotland Links municipal golf course, and its parks and conservation areas include Carver's Pond, Iron Works Park, the Stiles and Hart Conservation Area and the Titicut Conservation Area. The Bridgewater town guide has more.
Raynham's website describes the 300-acre Borden Colony complex, with fields for soccer, baseball and softball plus forest and farmland, and Johnson's Pond, which is open for fishing, ice-skating, picnicking and boating. It also describes Raynham Woods Commerce Park, a 330-acre site, and business corridors along Routes 44 and 138. The Raynham town guide covers the town in more detail.
What else do people ask about Bridgewater and Raynham?
How do you choose between Bridgewater and Raynham?
Settle the commute first. Ride an inbound train from Bridgewater station at the hour you would travel. Then drive from a Raynham address to East Taunton station and to Bridgewater station and time both. After that, compare tax bills on specific houses using each home's assessed value, not the town rate alone. The buyer's guide covers the steps from pre-approval to closing, and the relocation service page is for a move from outside the area.
Jessica Shauffer, a Coldwell Banker Realty agent based in South Easton, can help you compare specific homes in Bridgewater and Raynham. To ask about an address, contact Jessica.
Sources
- Secretary of the Commonwealth: City and Town Incorporation and Settlement Dates (checked )
- Town of Bridgewater: Community (About Bridgewater) (checked )
- Town of Bridgewater: Town Council (checked )
- Town of Bridgewater: Town Manager (checked )
- Town of Bridgewater: Parks and Facility Reservations (parks and conservation areas) (checked )
- Town of Bridgewater: Parks and Recreation (Olde Scotland Links municipal golf course) (checked )
- Bridgewater State University: About Us (checked )
- Town of Raynham: Welcome to Our Town (checked )
- Town of Raynham: Town Administrator/Select Board (checked )
- Raynham Planning Board minutes, March 19, 2026 (zoning changes go to Town Meeting) (checked )
- Massachusetts Division of Local Services, Tax Rates by Class, FY2026 (matches the site data file townTaxRates.json; report re-opened October 9, 2026) (checked )
- Zillow Research: Zillow Home Value Index, August 2026 (site data file townHomeValues.json; re-checked against Zillow's public city and state files on October 9, 2026) (checked )
- U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey, Northeast places, annual 2025 (checked )
- U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey, Northeast places, annual 2024 (checked )
- MBTA Fall River/New Bedford Line timetable (checked )
- MBTA: Bridgewater station (checked )
- MBTA: East Taunton station (checked )
- MBTA V3 API: station coordinates for Bridgewater and East Taunton (checked )
- MBTA V3 API: all commuter rail stops (none in Raynham) (checked )
- U.S. Census Bureau Geocoder: 558 South Main Street, Raynham (Town Hall) (checked )
- U.S. Census Bureau Geocoder: 66 Central Square, Bridgewater (Municipal Office Building) (checked )
- Massachusetts DESE School and District Profiles: Bridgewater-Raynham (district) (checked )
- Massachusetts DESE: Bridgewater-Raynham relationships and membership (checked )
- Massachusetts DESE: Bristol-Plymouth Regional Vocational Technical relationships and membership (checked )
- Massachusetts DESE profile: Mitchell Elementary School (checked )
- Massachusetts DESE profile: Williams Intermediate School (checked )
- Massachusetts DESE profile: Edward J. O'Donoghue Middle School (checked )
- Massachusetts DESE profile: Merrill Elementary School (checked )
- Massachusetts DESE profile: Laliberte Elementary School (checked )
- Massachusetts DESE profile: Raynham Middle School (checked )
- Massachusetts DESE profile: Bridgewater-Raynham Regional (high school) (checked )
- Zillow Research public data file: ZHVI, all homes, smoothed and seasonally adjusted, by city (checked )
- MBTA V3 API: weekday inbound schedule and stops for the Fall River/New Bedford Line (checked )
- Massachusetts DESE profile: Therapeutic Day School (Bridgewater-Raynham) (checked )
Written and fact-checked by Jessica Shauffer, Massachusetts real estate license #9554769 · Updated
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