The South Coast consists of 14 cities and towns in the southernmost part of Bristol and Plymouth Counties. The area has a population of roughly 340,000, with its two cities, New Bedford and Fall River, accounting for 54.6 percent of the total. This is the most economically and culturally integrated area of Southeastern Massachusetts. Its integration is enhanced by the area's geographic location in the far southern part of the region, which often isolates the South Coast from the rest of the state. Communities are linked by I-195, which runs through nearly every city and town.
Many factors cause the South Coast to remain isolated.
Highway and commuter rail networks do not provide easy access to the Boston MSA, nor do they generally facilitate intraregional movement from other subregions. The interstate links the area more closely to the Providence MSA, while commuter rail does not yet extend to the South Coast. Despite business and housing costs that are lower than Boston's, the South Coast has been less able to capitalize on the state's general prosperity than other areas have. It is still plagued by exceptionally low levels of educational attainment, high dropout rates, an above-average rate of welfare dependency, low incomes, a poor external image, and its relative isolation. Thus, while the South Coast seems to have made notable progress in closing its unemployment gap, its income levels continue to be among the lowest in the state.