The city of New Bedford is sandwiched between Dartmouth to the west, Acushnet and Fairhaven to the east, and Freetown to the north.

At 95,072 residents as of the 2010 Census, the city of New Bedford has Buzzards Bay’s largest year-round population. New Bedford’s land area covers 20 square miles, and nearly all of that is located within the Buzzards Bay watershed. New Bedford’s shoreline extends for 18 miles along Buzzards Bay, Clarks Cove, the Acushnet River, and New Bedford Harbor.