Marshfield Coastal Culture
Understanding the relationship between the people of Marshfield and its coastal environment --- including the commercial fishing fleet, the recreational and tourism uses of the coast and waterways, and the unquantifiable value of personal and neighborhood identities --- is essential in setting priorities for coastal adaptation strategies.
First, some demographic and geographic information. It is useful to compare the coastal areas to Marshfield as a whole. Conveniently, the United States Census identifies a few subsections of Marshfield as "census designated places" (CDP). These include the Ocean Bluff-Brant Rock CDP (Rexhame, Fieldston, Ocean Blff, and Brant Rock), and the Green Harbor-Ceder Crest CDP. These two CDPs do not cover all of Marshfield's vulnerable coastal properties, but do cover a majority, and therefore can give a good impression of the overall picture.
| Town of Marshfield | Ocean Bluff-Brant Rock CDP | Green Harbor-Ceder Crest CDP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2010 census) | 25,132 (municipal metrics suggest an increase to about 30,000 in summer) | 4,970 (19.8%) | 2,609 (10.4%) |
| Land area (sq.mi.) | 28.5 | 2.0 (7.0%) | 1.8 (6.3%) |
| Total housing units (2010 census) | 10,915 | 2,878 (26.4%) | 1,380 (12.6%) |
| Median household income | $89,702 | $68,772 | $84,659 |
| Median age | 43.3 | 45.1 | 48.7 |
| USCensus FactFinder | link | link | link |
| Map (Google) | link | link | link |
| Property valuation (FY2014) | $4,181,807,739 |
Note, "median" means that half of the population is above this number and half is below. This is different from "average" (or "mean"). Average incomes of populations, for example, tend to be higher than medians because the distribution of incomes can include a "tail" of a few individuals very far out on the high end who skew the average, while the low end of the distribution cannot be lower than zero.
