Dartmouth is a medium-sized coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 33,419 people and seven associated neighborhoods, Dartmouth is the 51st largest community in Massachusetts.

A relatively large number of people in Dartmouth telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 10.07% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Dartmouth is also a college town, where lots of students live while attending area colleges. Because of the high percentage of people living in Dartmouth enrolled in college, Dartmouth has a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared towards the needs and activities of students.

Dartmouth is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

The citizens of Dartmouth are very well educated compared to the average community in the nation: 36.23% of adults in Dartmouth have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in Dartmouth in 2022 was $48,710, which is lower middle income relative to Massachusetts, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $194,840 for a family of four. However, Dartmouth contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Dartmouth is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Dartmouth home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Dartmouth residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Dartmouth include Portuguese, English, Irish, French, and Italian.

The most common language spoken in Dartmouth is English. Other important languages spoken here include Portuguese and Spanish.