Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Needham’s household incomes are among the highest in the country
3.7% of residents live below the poverty line, against 10.0% across Massachusetts. Measured by household income, Needham is among the highest-earning towns in the country. For jobs and income Needham is better than 94% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (A+).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Needham apart on work
A lot of Needham works one town over
43% of working residents work in a town that borders Needham: Boston (34%), Newton (6%) and Wellesley (3%). Next door ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
80% of Needham’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data, and so do 75% of the jobs based in Needham. The jobs ↓
A lot of Needham works from home
32% of Needham workers work from home, against 19% across Massachusetts. Time on the road ↓
Needham is where the jobs are
Needham has 22,294 jobs, 1.5 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Needham draws workers from far and wide
The 22,294 jobs in Needham are filled from a wide area. Needham’s own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 28%; the other 65% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Where Needham’s Jobs & income grade comes from
Household income holds Needham’s grade up ($214,308, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Needham could be anywhere from A to A+.
75% of the jobs in Needham pay over $3,333 a month
22,294 jobs are based in Needham.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Needham, 2013 → 2023: 19,219 → 22,294. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Needham’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Needham: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Needham workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,631 commuters (the 32% who work from home are left out). Across Massachusetts: 75% drive alone, 8% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The daily flow of workers through Needham
On a workday 13,281 residents head out to work, 1,482 work right here, and 20,812 people come in from elsewhere.
About 40,000 people are in Needham on a workday afternoon, 23% more than live here.
1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where Needham’s workers come from
Where Needham clocks in
34% of workers
6% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Miles to work from Needham
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Needham, walking beats the bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 15,726 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 67% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 9% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 72% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 7.4% of Needham households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 11% of Needham’s commuters take a bus or train.
127th of 1,283: where Needham ranks among U.S. towns of 23,000 to 44,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Hingham MA | 24,481 | $178K | 4.3% | 2.4% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Lexington MA | 34,648 | $238K | 4.7% | 2.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 37 | Reading MA | 25,803 | $166K | 3.2% | 3.3% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 125 | Lino Lakes MN | 23,220 | $127K | 2.7% | 4.0% | 5% | A |
| 126 | Hilliard OH | 38,898 | $128K | 5.8% | 2.7% | 9% | A |
| 127 | Needham MA | 32,897 | $214K | 3.7% | 4.4% | 10% | A |
| 128 | Orange Township OH | 41,832 | $146K | 4.4% | 3.5% | 7% | A |
| 129 | Kirkwood MO | 29,331 | $121K | 5.3% | 3.1% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,283 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Needham, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
The towns next door employ 43% of Needham
The biggest share goes to Boston (34%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Needham workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Needham | – | A | A+ | 28 min | $214,308 |
| Dover | under 2% | A− | B+ | 35 min | $250,000+ |
| Newton | 6% | A+ | A+ | 27 min | $190,304 |
| Dedham | under 2% | A | A | 29 min | $128,955 |
| Wellesley | 3% | A | A+ | 27 min | $250,000+ |
| Westwood | under 2% | A+ | A− | 30 min | $223,125 |
| Boston | 34% | B | A+ | 30 min | $97,344 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Needham’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Needham: questions
What is the median household income in Needham?
$214,308 (±$13,048) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Needham?
3.7%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Needham?
28 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 32% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Needham work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (34%, 12 mi), Cambridge (6%, 9 mi), Newton (6%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Needham walkable?
Needham is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 11.3 out of 20, and 15% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Needham without a car?
11% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 9% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Needham, from the people who make the trip.
More of Needham
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.