Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 73/100
B
Median home value$1,188,500
Boston $646,300
Median rent$2,409/mo
Boston $2,023/mo
Cost-burdened households30%
Boston 36%
Needham
Norfolk County32,459 residentsNeedham
73
B
Suburbgrade score
9th of 60 Boston suburbs. Strong on schools and employment & income, held back by commute & transport.
73
Boston median 61
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Needham yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 73 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Needham is like to live in, by category
Bars show Needham against Boston. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 93/100
A+
Within-state proficiency94th pct
Boston median 47th pct
Student–teacher ratio12.1
Boston median 11.8
Graduation rate97%
Boston median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 63/100
C+
Housing cost index132
Boston 100
Eff. tax rate1.06%
Boston 1.01%
Local sales tax6.25%
Boston median 6.25%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 60/100
C
Mean commute27.7 min
Boston 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes52%
Boston 52%
Transit stops / sq mi2.8
Boston median 8.1 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 65/100
C+
Restaurants & cafés32
Boston median 51 · within 2 miles
Groceries4
Boston median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks72
Boston median 65 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 76/100
B
Median household income$214,308
Boston $115,863
Unemployment4.4%
Boston 4.9%
Professional occupations73%
Boston 54%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
—
No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Needham yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
—
Do you feel safe walking after dark?
—
Can you walk to a grocery store?
—
Is it good for young children?
—
Are yards and streets well kept?
—
Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Needham on commute & transport
Needham's weakest grade is C. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCommuteOverall
Cambridge9 mi from NeedhamB 74 B Waltham7 mi from NeedhamB 65 C+ Newton4 mi from NeedhamB− 75 B Brookline6 mi from NeedhamB− 77 B Watertown7 mi from NeedhamB− 68 B− Woburn15 mi from NeedhamC+ 63 C+ Mean commute: ACS 2020–24 · Commuting under 30 minutes: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Needham
Is Needham, MA a good place to live?
Needham scores 73 out of 100, 9th of 60 Boston suburbs. It is strongest on schools and weakest on commute & transport. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Needham expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C+. The median home is $1,188,500, 84% above the Boston median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.06%. $2,409/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Needham?
Schools grade A+. The districts serving Needham sit at the 94th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 97% graduation rate and a 12.1 student–teacher ratio. Needham is served by Needham. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Needham?
The mean commute is 27.7 min, with 52% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 32% working from home. Transit density is 2.8 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Needham?
Within two miles there are 4 groceries, 32 restaurants and cafés and 72 parks, which grades C+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Needham old or new?
The median home in Needham was built in 1965 — close to the Boston median of 1964. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 80% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.