Needham

Welcome to Needham, MA

Needham is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb of Boston, its population was 28,886 at the 2010 census. It is home to Babson College, a very well-respected business school and the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, an engineering school.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 12.7 square miles (32.9 km²), of which 12.6 square miles (32.7 km²) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.2 km²) is water.

Needham's area is roughly in the shape of an acute, northward-pointing triangle. The Charles River forms nearly all of the southern and northeastern boundaries, the town line with Wellesley forming the third, northwestern one. In addition to Wellesley on the northwest, Needham borders Newton and the West Roxbury section of Boston on the northeast, and Dover, Westwood, and Dedham on the south. The majority of Cutler Park is in Needham and is located along the Charles River and the border with Newton and West Roxbury. Needham is elevated at sea level but is a very hilly town.

As of the census of 2010, there were 28,886 people, 10,341 households, and 7,792 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,292.7 people per square mile (885.2/km²). There were 10,846 housing units at an average density of 860.1 per square mile (332.1/km²).

There were 10,341 households out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.9% were married living together, 6.9% have a female householder with no husband present and 26.7% were non-families. 23.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.20.

In the town, the population was laid out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.9 males.

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the town was $116,867, and the median income for a family was $144,042. Males had a median income of $76,459 versus $47,092 for females. The per capita income for the town was $56,776. About 1.6% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.2% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Town of Needham operates one high school, Needham High School, which underwent a $62-million renovation that was completed in 2009;

Middle schools:

• William F. Pollard Middle School, for seventh and eighth grade
• High Rock School, for sixth grade only;

Elementary schools for grades K-5:

• John Eliot Elementary School
• Hillside Elementary School
• William Mitchell Elementary School
• Newman Elementary School
• Broadmeadow Elementary School.

Needham is in the process of building a new elementary school, Sunita L. Williams Elementary School, to replace the aging Hillside Elementary School, scheduled to open in the fall of 2019.

Here are current MLS listings in the Needham, MA area: