Duplicate content

Hi,

I have a site with more than 99% of same content on quite a few pages. The only difference is the name of the locality on each page.

If I understood correctly, this duplicacy just confuses Google which page to rank or which to push back. One suggested way, if I understood it correctly, is NOT to submit such pages to Google. But then, how do I get them to rank better on Google? I would meet my target only when Google is able to fetch and rack each page, irrespective of it being duplicate or not.

I can't think of any way to prevent or circumvent this requirement or scenario.

Any suggestions, please?