Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Norwood grades B+ overall, 115th of 282 graded towns in Massachusetts. It is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns. It is healthier than 90% of U.S. towns and the median household earns $107K. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $728K, 6.3 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. Norwood’s trail density is 1.1 miles per square mile, below Massachusetts’ towns (1.8) but above U.S. towns (0.4). Its National Register listings include Fred Holland Day House and Norwood Memorial Municipal Building.
Where Norwood beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,845 in 1880, 31,611 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1882 and 8 maps from 1886 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Norwood is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 96% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 7%), so the B+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Norwood. Close and well known come first.
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw12 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Big draw35 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
12 mi MuseumMuseum of Fine Arts Boston477K visitors a year
14 mi AttractionFreedom TrailGillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Museum of Fine Arts Boston: Martin~jawiki at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Norwood, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Norwood.
Norwood is safe by national standards but not by Massachusetts’s and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Massachusetts; it also trails Westwood and its other neighbors on schools.
Within Massachusetts it is healthier than 60% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar.
25% of adults have obesity in Norwood, where Massachusetts’ towns sit at 28% and U.S. towns at 35%. Norwood beats the Massachusetts average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 19% of Norwood adults get no exercise outside work.
| Norwood | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 28% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 19% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 11% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 32% | 35% |
| What stands out | Norwood | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.3% | 11.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.5% | 11.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.5% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Each of its 4 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its B−, Westwood highest at A+.
Its public schools are run by the Norwood school district. Three of its 11 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr. Philip O. Coakley Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 807 | C+ |
| Norwood HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 966 | B+ |
| Charles J PrescottTop results in townGrades 1–5 | Grades 1–5 | 267 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 85% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 23 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Norwood.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
12 miles of trail in 22 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Endean Park, 85 acres with 2.3 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Endean Park | 2.3 mi | 85 |
| 2. Shattuck Park | 0.7 mi | 9 |
| 3. Bernie Cooper Riverfront Park | 0.6 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Norwood has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 19° and about 56 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 12.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 54% of Massachusetts’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 310 to 227 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave Norwood for work: only 12% work in town. Jobs based in Norwood fell to 19,866 in 2023, 3,074 fewer than in 2013. The average trip to work in Norwood is 30 minutes.
| Norwood | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $107,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 16% | 18% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 9.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Norwood’s median rent is $2,116 a month. The typical Norwood home is worth about $728,000, up 2.1% in a year, 11% above the Massachusetts typical home. 54% of households own their home in Norwood.
| Norwood | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 79% | 73% |
| Median rent | $2,116 a month | $1,682 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Massachusetts average. 55% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 47% across Massachusetts.
| Norwood | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 55% | 47% | 29% |
| Median age | 39 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 20% | 20% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 18% | 19% | 18% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.6 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 40.4, men 37.9.
| Norwood | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.5% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.4% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.4% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.7% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.7% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.9% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.7% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.3% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.3% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.4% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 18.3% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 13.4% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.4% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 31.6% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 23.8% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
52 within 15 miles of the center of Norwood
About 5 of every 100 Norwood residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
28,602 counted in 2010 and 31,611 in 2020; an estimated 31,714 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 10.5% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
2 places in Norwood on the National Register of Historic Places.
35 notable people were born in Norwood.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Norwood is a town and census-designated place in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Norwood is part of the Greater Boston area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,611. The town was named after Norwood, England. Norwood is on the Neponset River, which runs all the way to Boston Harbor from Foxborough.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Norwood.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its B+; Canton (A−) is closest.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Norwood grades B+ overall, better than 72% of U.S. towns and #115 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A for health, B+ for safety and B− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
35 notable people were born here, including Tony Rombola and Bill Keating.
