Living in Needham, MA
Suburb in Massachusetts
Needham is a suburb in Massachusetts, home to about 32,000 people, with 3.7 million living within 31 mi. Day to day, much of daily life is walkable. Life moves at a fast pace, and homes are mostly houses with yards.
Is Needham a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Strong healthcare: 13 top-rated (4–5★) hospitals within 31 mi
- Highly educated: 81% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher, and 11 research universities are within 31 mi
- Family-friendly: playgrounds, family attractions and plenty of households with kids
- Safe: violent crime is 0.08× the US rate (FBI 2019)
👎 Cons
- Pricey housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $1.24M, and rent is $3,530 a month
- Higher taxes: about $3,502 state income tax per resident, 0.87% property tax
- Cloudier than most places
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Needham ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Needham: common questions
What is the cost of living in Needham?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $1.24M, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $3,530 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are above the US average (index 108, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Needham?
Massachusetts collects about $3,502 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 0.87% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Needham safe?
Violent crime is well below the national rate (0.08× in FBI 2019 data).
How are the schools in Needham?
Public schools in Needham test well above the US average in math and reading (2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP), with about 14 students per teacher.
What is the weather like in Needham?
Needham has cold winters: winter days average around 38°F and summer days around 80°F, with roughly 46″ of snow a year.
Does Needham get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is low, mainly from flooding and hurricanes: 11 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 0.13 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Needham?
The nearest major airport is BOS, about 13 mi away.
How Needham scores
Each bar compares Needham with the other 1,990 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
Places like Needham
These places have the most similar overall profile across all 24 aspects.
The circle is each place's all-round score out of 100: the average of its 15 quality scores, from red (poor) to green (excellent).
Nearby
See all the best places to live in Massachusetts.
Is Needham right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.