Bridgewater is a town located in Plymouth County, in the state of Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town’s population was 28,633. Bridgewater is located approximately 25 miles (40 km) south of Boston and approximately 35 miles east of Providence, Rhode Island.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 28.2 square miles (73 km), of which 27.5 square miles (71 km²) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km) (2.62%) is water. Bridgewater is 99th out of the 351 communities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and eighth out of the twenty-seven municipalities in Plymouth County in terms of land area. The town is bordered by West Bridgewater to the northwest, East Bridgewater to the northeast, Halifax to the east, Middleborough to the south, and Raynham to the west. Bridgewater is approximately five miles south of Brockton, 10 miles northeast of Taunton, and 25 miles south of Boston, of which it is a suburb.

Neighborhoods in Bridgewater include Stanley, Scotland Park, Pratt Town, Paper Mill Village, and South Bridgewater.

Bridgewater lies along the Taunton River, which has several other rivers and brooks which branch off the main waterway. There are also several ponds, the largest of which is Lake Nippenicket along the western edge of the town. There is a state forest, a town forest, several conservation areas and a large portion of the Hockomock Swamp Wildlife Management Area, in the western part of town. Parts of this swamp give rise to the so-called Bridgewater Triangle, a small area of concentrated reports of strange Fortean phenomena, colonial “dark days”, Bigfoot and mysterious black panthers, UFO sightings, and other weird encounters, a phrase coined by Loren Coleman, author of Mysterious America, often compared to the Bermuda Triangle.

As of the census of 2000, there were 25,185 people, 7,526 households, and 5,584 families residing in the town. The population density was 916.2 inhabitants per square mile (353.7/km²). There were 7,652 housing units at an average density of 278.4 per square mile (107.5/km). The racial makeup of the town was 87.28% White, 17.47% People of Color.

There were 7,526 households, out of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.5% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.8% were non-families. 19.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 14.7% from 18 to 24, 32.9% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.9 males.