Needham is a medium-sized town located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 32,114 people and six associated neighborhoods, Needham is the 55th largest community in Massachusetts.

Needham home prices are not only among the most expensive in Massachusetts, but Needham real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Also of interest is that Needham has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 25.37% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

In addition, Needham is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are people who are both educated and wealthy, and thus tend to be older, richer, and more established than young professionals. "Urban sophisticates" is not just about being educated and well-off financially: it is a point of view and state of mind, one that you might call 'urbaneness'. But such people can and do regularly live in small towns, suburbs and rural areas, as well as in big cities. They read, support the arts and high-end shops, and love travel.

Because of many things, Needham is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Needham really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Needham perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic nightlife, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live.

One downside of living in Needham is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Needham, the average commute to work is 30.70 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the town, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative.

For the size of the town, public transportation in Needham is quite heavily used. Mostly, people who use it for their daily commute are taking the train. For Needham, the benefits are reduced air pollution and congestion on the highways.

If knowledge is power, Needham is a pretty powerful place. 81.12% of the adults in Needham have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in Needham in 2018 was $95,376, which is wealthy relative to Massachusetts and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $381,504 for a family of four.

Needham is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Needham home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Needham residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Needham include Irish, English, Italian, Russian, and German.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Needham's cultural character, accounting for 15.77% of the town’s population.

The most common language spoken in Needham is English. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and Spanish.