Welcome to Needham ...
Needham is located in Norfolk County<1>.
Needham was settled in 1680 and was incorporated in 1711.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Needham has a population of 31,392 people<2> (see below for details).
Needham is 170 feet [52 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Needham lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Codes for Needham: 781 & 339<4>
The ZIP code for Needham: 02492<5>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Needham had an population of 31,392 people. This is an increase of 8.68% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 8.58% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Needham had a population of 28,886 people. This makes Needham the county's 7th most populous community.
The population of Needham represents 0.44% of the total population of Massachusetts (which has 6,547,629 people), making it the state's 57th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 28,886 people, the population of Needham has remained roughly the same as the 2000 Census (which had a count of 28,911 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Needham.
Communities Also Named Needham ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 4 communities that are also named Needham - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and Indiana.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Needham.
Websites for Needham ...
Official Website: www.town.needham.ma.us/
Communities near Needham ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Needham.
- Boston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boston
- Boston is located in Suffolk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 691,531 people
- Cambridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
- Cambridge is located in Middlesex County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 119,192 people
- Brockton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brockton
- Brockton is located in Plymouth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 95,770 people
- Lynn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Lynn is located in Essex County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 94,539 people
- Quincy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
- Quincy is located in Norfolk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 94,421 people
- Somerville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
- Somerville is located in Middlesex County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 80,935 people
- Framingham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Framingham
- Framingham is located in Middlesex County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 73,892 people
- Waltham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltham
- Waltham is located in Middlesex County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 62,069 people
- Medford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medford
- Medford is located in Middlesex County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 60,847 people
- Malden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malden
- Malden is located in Middlesex County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 59,922 people
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Needham. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Needham.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Needham. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Needham.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Needham. Our list includes 6 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Needham.
Adding Needham to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Needham in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Needham was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>
X2X - From that list, the Needham post office opened in 1817.
We also found Needham in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Needham.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Needham: www.town.needham.ma.us/
The official website for Norfolk County: www.norfolkcounty.org/
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Massachusetts' counties, including Norfolk, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Needham. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Needham - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 781 code has been Overlayed with the 339 area code. New phone numbers in the Needham area will be assigned with one of these codes: 781 or 339. As a result, placing a call in the Needham area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <5> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Needham). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Needham or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <6> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |