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 educated, wealthy, executives and professionals, who have urbane tastes in books, food, and travel, whether they actually live in a big city, or choose to reside in a small town. In big or medium-sized cities, urban sophisticates tend to frequent art institutions such as opera, symphonies, ballet, live theatre, and museums.

Because of many things, Needham is a great place for families with children to consider. First of all, many other families with children live here, making Needham a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families, as well as find family-oriented services and community. The town’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic values. With regard to real estate, Needham has a high rate of owner-occupied single family homes, which tends to reflect stability in the local community. Finally, Needham’s overall crime rate is lower than average for the country.

In Needham, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 30.70 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit.

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 2022 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.

Needham also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 15.77%.

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