HALIFAX — Susan Basile, 66, has lived her whole life in this small South Shore town, like her father before her, and his before that. And so on.

In this close-knit commuter town, where most everyone knows everyone else, here is where most everyone is from.

Being “from here’’ was once a well-worn truism in New England, where people and families famously stayed in one place. But in an age of surging mobility, where bouncing from job to job and place to place is the new norm, this town and its neighbors stand out as an island of the old way, with outsiders few and far between.

Some 88 percent of Halifax’s 8,000 residents, or 22 out of every 25, were born in Massachu setts, according to new census estimates, the highest of any Massachusetts community larger than 1,500 people. And most of those in Halifax, people here say, have lived much of their lives in this town or right nearby.

“Everyone I know who was born here stayed here,’’ said Paul Blette, 68. “There was no need to move.’’

At the diner, old-timers reminisce about their high school days, about growing up and settling down, about the hulking Walmart across the street, and how everyone used to get along fine without it. A pair of wiry young men, Patriots hoodies spackled with paint and plaster, grab coffee for the road. They’ve known each other for 20 years, ever since first grade.

It is a striking phenomenon in the swath of suburbs between Route 24 and Route 3, where well over 80 percent of residents of East Bridgewater, Hanson, Abington, Pembroke, and Whitman were born in the state — compared with 64 percent of all Massachusetts residents.

“It’s true; you don’t run across too many people from Iowa or Ohio here,’’ quipped Michael Manoogian, the police chief in Halifax. Manoogian was quick to point out that he grew up in neighboring Plympton and only recently moved to Halifax. In 1978.

“If your great-great-grandfather wasn’t from here, you’re not really from here,’’ he said with a half-smile. “But everyone’s welcome.’’

John Shea, 66, who runs a barber shop with his son in Halifax, said the town and its neighbors were the last stop for many Irish and Italian immigrants who migrated, generation by generation, to towns south of Boston.

“Very seldom do you see someone move here from the North Shore,’’ he mused.

Shea’s three children all live nearby, with one son buying his grandfather’s house in town.

“They’ll all be happy here,’’ he said.

Some who moved away eventually came back, drawn by family and fond memories. It was a nice place to grow up, they said, and to raise a family.

Not too far from Boston, but not too close, either. Even those who move away for years still think of Halifax as home.

“We always wanted to move back,’’ said Patty Forsstrom, a 51-year-old who lived in North Carolina for 16 years before she and her husband moved back to care for his mother. “We loved it down there, but this is where we grew up.’’

The pull of family, locals say, accounts for much of the town’s high quotient of the Massachusetts-born. The older generations, raised in a time when people seldom strayed far from their hometown, stayed put, and their children often came back to be near them as they aged. Once back, many decided they were staying put, drawn by solid schools and affordable homes with big yards and broad driveways.

“And the small-town feel, I think,’’ Forsstrom added.

At the same time, a small, out-of-the-way town isn’t exactly a magnet for newcomers to the Boston area, and even the outsiders are from other South Shore towns.

“A lot of people from Whitman moved here over the years,’’ Blette offered by way of explanation.

On the opposite end of the Massachusetts-born spectrum is a mix of cities with sizable immigrant populations (Boston, Somerville, and Lawrence) and wealthy suburbs that draw successful professionals (Newton, Wellesley, Cambridge, and Brookline). Lowest of all is Seekonk, a town of 13,000 that hugs the Rhode Island border, where only 20 percent of residents are born in Massachusetts.

The figures are estimates from the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, conducted from 2005 through 2009 and released in December. The data allow town-by-town comparisons for the first time in a decade.

Although not surprised that Halifax boasted such a heavy in-state contingent, locals were divided over whether that gave the town a distinctive character or disposition. Sure, the town has its Dunkin’ Donuts and Tedeschi’s, its sub shops and package stores. There are relatively few jobs in town, so most people commute. Bars always have the Red Sox on, and people love their Keno.

But that’s the same in plenty of towns, people said. What sets Halifax apart is a core of families who have called the South Shore home for generations, and a pervasive belief that there is little reason to leave.

“A lot of people have lived here a long time,’’ said Blette, a retired carpenter who raised his family here. “I never really put two and two together, but everyone I know is from here.’’

For newcomers, that insularity can be daunting. Christine Carrico, a mother of two who moved to town about a year ago from Plymouth and now works as a waitress at the diner, said she felt a bit like an in-law at a family reunion.

“It took awhile, getting used to things,’’ she said. “Everybody knows everybody.’’

No one in town is expecting an influx from other parts of the country anytime soon, and interviews with about two dozen residents turned up only Massachusetts natives, usually born and raised within a 25-mile radius. But locals say newcomers are more than welcome.

“I guess it would be OK,’’ said Jean MacDonald, a Halifax resident who could not recall meeting a single neighbor who was not from the area. “I’ll just have to check them out first.’’

Barbara Gaynor, who in 2009 became the town clerk after working at the elementary school for years, records births to parents who were students there in the early 1990s. They may have gone away for a while, she said, but they’re back now.

In her time as clerk, she has never come across anyone from out of state, and rarely from beyond the South Shore.

“We might get some people from Plymouth,’’ she said with a chuckle.

Matthew Carroll can be reached at mcarroll@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @globemattc. Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com.

© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.