Needham, MA

Census Place

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2024 Population

32,459

US Senator

Elizabeth Warren

Democratic Party

US Senator

Ed Markey

Democratic Party

2024 Median Age

43.1

0.233% 1-year increase

2024 Poverty Rate

3.67%

2.29% 1-year decrease

2024 Median Household Income

$214,308

0.974% 1-year growth

2024 Employed Population

16,025

2.31% 1-year growth

About

None of the households in Needham, MA reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

The largest universities in Needham, MA are Franklin W Olin College of Engineering (102 degrees awarded in 2024).

Most people in Needham, MA drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 27.7 minutes. The average car ownership in Needham, MA was 2 cars per household.

United States Massachusetts Norfolk County, MA Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Middlesex County--Newton & Waltham PUMA, MA Boston City--Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Roslindale & West Roxbury PUMA, MA Norfolk County (Northwest)--Needham, Wellesley & Westwood PUMA, MA Norfolk County--Brookline, Milton & Dedham PUMA, MA

Population & Diversity

In 2024, there were 8.15 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (26.2k people) in Needham, MA than any other race or ethnicity. There were 3.22k Asian (Non-Hispanic) and 879 Two Races Including Other (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Needham, MA

White (Non-Hispanic)
26.2k ± 751
Asian (Non-Hispanic)
3.22k ± 651
Two Races Including Other (Hispanic)
879 ± 380

3.63%

Hispanic Population

1.18k people

3.63% of the people in Needham, MA are hispanic (1.18k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Needham, MA as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the Place level, so we are showing data for Massachusetts.

Most Common Origin

Brazil
108,593 ± 8,028 people
Dominican Republic
106,391 ± 7,947 people
China
103,416 ± 7,837 people

In 2024, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Massachusetts was Brazil, the natal country of 108,593 Massachusetts residents, followed by Dominican Republic with 106,391 and China with 103,416.

Foreign-Born Population

16.7%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

5.42k people

16.7%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

5.36k people

As of 2024, 16.7% of Needham, MA residents (5.42k people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Needham, MA was 16.7%, meaning that the rate has been decreasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Needham, MA compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Health

98.8% of the population of Needham, MA has health coverage, with 72.1% on employee plans, 3.39% on Medicaid, 11.9% on Medicare, 11.4% on non-group plans, and 0.0622% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Massachusetts see 990 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (990 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 915 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 130 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 48.3% were men and 51.7% were women.

Coverage

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 29.1% under 18 years, 10% between 18 and 34 years, 43.8% between 35 and 64 years, and 17.1% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 48.3% were men and 51.7% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

1.19%

Uninsured

72.1%

Employer Coverage

3.39%

Medicaid

11.9%

Medicare

11.4%

Non-Group

0.0622%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Needham, MA declined by 2.57% from 1.23% to 1.19%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Needham, MA changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

Economy

The economy of Needham, MA employs 16k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Needham, MA were Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (3,229 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (2,456 people), and Educational Services (2,174 people), and the highest paying industries were Management of Companies & Enterprises ($250,001), Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services ($183,911), and Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($180,106).

Employment

Occupations

16k

2024 Value

± 924

2.31%

1 Year growth

± 8.01%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Needham, MA grew at a rate of 2.31%, from 15.7k employees to 16k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Needham, MA, are Management Occupations (3,438 people), Business & Financial Operations Occupations (1,878 people), and Education Instruction, & Library Occupations (1,511 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Needham, MA.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Massachusetts.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Massachusetts (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

16k

2024 Value

± 924

2.31%

1 Year growth

± 8.01%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Needham, MA grew at a rate of 2.31%, from 15.7k employees to 16k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Needham, MA, are Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (3,229 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (2,456 people), and Educational Services (2,174 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Needham, MA, though some of these residents may live in Needham, MA and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$153,629

Median earning men ± $13,648

$79,713

Median earning women ± $6,498

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($224,500), Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($197,167), and Retail Trade ($180,646).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Construction ($195,694), Wholesale Trade ($170,800), and Manufacturing ($132,375).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Massachusetts.

Y-Axis

2.61%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 3.67M people employed in Massachusetts. This represents a 2.61% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 17.5%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in Massachusetts.

Civics

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Massachusetts went to Kamala Harris with 61.2% of the vote. The runner-up was Donald J. Trump (36%), followed by Other (1.48%).

Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey are the senators currently representing the state of Massachusetts. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

Massachusetts is currently represented by 9 members in the U.S. house, and members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms.

Presidential Elections

Presidential Popular Vote Over Time

Voting results are not available for Needham, MA. Showing the available data for Massachusetts.

2024 Election Results

Kamala Harris (61.2%)
Democratic Party
Donald J. Trump (36%)
Republican Party
Other (1.48%)
Other Party

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Massachusetts went to Kamala Harris with 61.2% of the vote. The runner-up was Donald J. Trump (36%), followed by Other (1.48%).

The following chart shows the popular vote results in Massachusetts for each registered party from 1976 to 2024.

Senator Elections

US Senators from Massachusetts

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for Massachusetts.

Elizabeth Warren

Senator from Massachusetts

Assumed office on January 3, 2013

Ed Markey

Senator from Massachusetts

Assumed office on July 16, 2013
Elected to the seat to succeed Mo Cowan, who had been appointed to the seat following the resignation of John Kerry, who had become Secretary of State.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/26/us/massachusetts-special-senate-election.html |title=Democrat Wins Special Election for Kerry's Senate Seat |work=The New York Times |date=June 25, 2013 |access-date=May 21, 2020 |last1=Seelye |first1=Katharine Q. }}

Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey are the senators currently representing Massachusetts.

In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

The following chart shows elected senators in Massachusetts over time, excluding special elections, colored by their political party.

Education

In 2024, universities in Needham, MA awarded 102 degrees. The student population of Needham, MA in 2024 is skewed towards men, with 211 male students and 194 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Needham, MA are White (49 and 52.7%), Asian (19 and 20.4%), Two or More Races (8 and 8.6%), and Hispanic or Latino (8 and 8.6%).

The largest universities in Needham, MA by number of degrees awarded are Franklin W Olin College of Engineering (102 and 100%).

The most popular majors in Needham, MA are General Engineering (52 and 51%), Mechanical Engineering (29 and 28.4%), and Electrical & Electronics Engineering (21 and 20.6%).

The median tuition cost for private four year colleges is $61,772.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

Measure

In 2024 in Needham, MA, the percentage of applicants admitted was 25.2%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 43.7%. The number of students enrolled in 2024 was 405 (52.1% men and 47.9% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

In 2024 there were 405 students enrolled in Needham, MA, 52.1% men and 47.9% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 169 records, of which 45.6% were women and 54.4% men.

Completions

Concentrations

In 2024, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Needham, MA was N/A with N/A degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Needham, MA according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Franklin W Olin College of Engineering

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

102 degrees awarded

In 2024, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Franklin W Olin College of Engineering with 102 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

In 2024, 56 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Needham, MA, which is 1.22 times more than the 46 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2024, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 49 degrees mean that there were 2.58 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Asian, with 19 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($61,772) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2024.

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($1,970) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2024.

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($216) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

People in Needham, MA have an average commute time of 27.7 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Needham, MA is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Rent vs Own

83.1%

Homeownership

2024

63.6%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 83.1% of the housing units in Needham, MA were occupied by their owner. This percentage declined from the previous year's rate of 84.3%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Needham, MA compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$214,308

Median Household Income

± $13,048

11.6k

Number of Households

± 708

In 2024, the median household income of the 11.6k households in Needham, MA grew to $214,308 from the previous year's value of $212,241.

The following chart displays the households in Needham, MA distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $200k+ range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Needham, MA is from Massachusetts.

0.477

2024 Wage GINI in Massachusetts

0.478

2023 Wage GINI in Massachusetts

In 2024, the income inequality in Massachusetts was 0.477 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.306% decline from 2023 to 2024, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Massachusetts was higher than than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed less evenly in Massachusetts in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Massachusetts across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (52.7%)
Worked At Home (32.4%)
Public Transit (7.55%)

In 2024, 52.7% of workers in Needham, MA drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (32.4%) and those who used public transit to get to work (7.55%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

27.7 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Needham, MA have a longer commute time (27.7 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 0.489% of the workforce in Needham, MA have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Needham, MA compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Needham, MA distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Needham, MA have 2 cars.

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

3.67% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Needham, MA (1.16k out of 31.6k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is lower than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Males 18 - 24, followed by Males 65 - 74 and then Females 55 - 64.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Needham, MA is White, followed by Two Or More and Asian.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.