We might have hoped that having gone through Chronicles we were done with lists, but I am afraid not. The list is very nearly repeated in Nehemiah chapter 7 as well, so something for you to look forward to!
The mention of place names indicates that people still maintained an affinity with their homeland. By the way, Parosh means "flea".
The total number of returnees is given in verse 64 as 42 360 plus 7 337 slaves, so about fifty thousand in total. The figure of 42,360 does not tally with the totals in Ezra (29,818), Nehemiah (31089) or 1 Esdras (32 600). The extra 10 000 or so may be women and children, or people who were not of the tribes of Judah or Benjamin.
The people settled in the towns they originated from, though later on Nehemiah moved more people to Jerusalem in order to increase the population there.
So we have the land being repopulated and the start of the re-establishment of worship in the land can begin.
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