Census-designated place · Norfolk County, Massachusetts

Dedham, Massachusetts

Dedham is a census-designated place in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, part of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area. It has 25,237 residents. Dedham, Massachusetts has a quality-of-life score of 93 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,103 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Massachusetts it ranks #53 of 225 cities and towns. It ranks best on reading scores (high), flu vaccinations (high) and dentists (high). It ranks worst on child care cost burden (high), average commute time (high) and time spent in the emergency room (high).

93Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,103 of 15,651 cities and towns
Massachusetts: #53 of 225 in MA
Population: 25,237 (2020-2024)
Land area: 10 mi²
Density: 2,457.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 2516530

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety89#1,662/15,637
Economy81#2,958/15,631
Housing11#13,347/14,977
Health95#819/15,609
Healthcare99#137/15,650
Environment76#3,674/15,453
Education97#422/15,649
Infrastructure74#4,045/15,650
Community85#2,306/15,651
Leisure & amenities70#4,725/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Dedham, Massachusetts ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Norfolk County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Reading scores · high3.59
99/100Massachusetts 3.31United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNorfolk County value
Flu vaccinations · high59.0%
98/100Massachusetts 55.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNorfolk County value
Dentists · high126 /100k
98/100Massachusetts 111 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNorfolk County value
Firearm deaths · low1.6 /100k
98/100Massachusetts 3.5 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataNorfolk County value
Math scores · high3.52
97/100Massachusetts 3.20United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNorfolk County value
Mental health providers · high730 /100k
97/100Massachusetts 787 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNorfolk County value

Weaknesses

Child care cost burden · high43.4%
3/100Massachusetts 39.7%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNorfolk County value
Average commute time · high29.3 min
14/100Massachusetts 29.1 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Time spent in the emergency room · high216 min
15/100Massachusetts 216 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesNorfolk County value
Home price to income ratio · high5.1×
18/100Massachusetts 5.4×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Rent-burdened households · high56.4%
19/100Massachusetts 51.8%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Comfortable days · low23.8%
21/100Massachusetts 24.3%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationNorfolk County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Median household incomeImproving
$100,757 (2015-2019) → $128,955 (2020-2024)
+28%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Public transit commutersWorsening
11.0% (2015-2019) → 5.6% (2020-2024)
−5.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
88.7% (2015-2019) → 91.8% (2020-2024)
+3.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
4.6× (2015-2019) → 5.1× (2020-2024)
+12%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
58.3% (2015-2019) → 56.4% (2020-2024)
−1.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
High school diploma or higherWorsening
95.2% (2015-2019) → 93.5% (2020-2024)
−1.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Dedham, Massachusetts improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Household income+28%$100,757 → $128,955
Broadband+3.1 points88.7% → 91.8%

Declined2

Transit use−5.5 points11.0% → 5.6%
Price / income+0.6×4.6× → 5.1×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Dedham, Massachusetts between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	31.9 min2015-2019	29.3 min2020-2024	−2.6 min	Within the margin of error	76%
Bachelor's degree or higher	53.3%2015-2019	55.0%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Broadband subscriptions	88.7%2015-2019	91.8%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Improved	21%
Effective property tax rate	1.16%2015-2019	1.16%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	15%
High school diploma or higher	95.2%2015-2019	93.5%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Home price to income ratio	4.6×2015-2019	5.1×2020-2024	+0.6×	Declined	44%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4472015-2019	0.4572020-2024	+0.010	Within the margin of error	41%
Median household income	$100,7572015-2019	$128,9552020-2024	+28%	Improved	51%
Poverty rate	4.5%2015-2019	5.6%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Public transit commuters	11.0%2015-2019	5.6%2020-2024	−5.5 points	Declined	6%
Rent as share of income	33.5%2015-2019	33.2%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Rent-burdened households	58.3%2015-2019	56.4%2020-2024	−1.9 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Unemployment rate	3.7%2015-2019	3.1%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	1.8%2015-2019	1.8%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	46%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Dedham, Massachusetts five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Dedham, Massachusetts in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Dedham, Massachusetts itself moved −3 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

25,237 residents (±39)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

10,530 households (±267)

Dedham, Massachusetts
Massachusetts share

Under $25k12%1,274
$25k–50k8.0%842
$50k–75k9.7%1,026

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

10,530 households (±267)

Dedham, Massachusetts
Massachusetts share

Own73%7,729
Rent27%2,801

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

14,012 workers (±593)

Dedham, Massachusetts
Massachusetts share

Drive alone63%8,882
Carpool7.7%†1,084
Public transit5.6%778

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Norfolk County, the county holding most of Dedham's residents.

Norfolk County has 20,745 employer establishments, 284 for every 10,000 residents (1.14× the US rate of 248; 1.09× Massachusetts's), with 337,287 paid employees at an average annual pay of $76,922. The Census Bureau also counts 71,199 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 20,745; 71,199 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 284; US 248 · Massachusetts 260
Paid employees: 337,287
Average annual pay: $76,922; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Norfolk County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	1,747	23.9	1.15×About typical	20,763	$68,813	4,322
Specialty trade contractors	1,519	20.8	1.34×More than typical	15,786	$103,115	3,676
Restaurants and other eating places	1,501	20.5	1.12×About typical	26,042	$27,714	221
Lessors of real estate	899	12.3	1.00×About typical	5,949	$76,712	8,350
Construction of buildings	744	10.2	1.35×More than typical	3,949	$96,634	1,580
Building equipment contractors	675	9.2	1.54×More than typical	10,224	$109,986	918
Services to buildings and dwellings	675	9.2	1.37×More than typical	4,969	$58,813	1,786
Personal care services	658	9	1.89×More than typical	3,758	$32,916	1,833
Full-service restaurants	657	9	1.17×About typical	14,288	$30,774	85
Management, scientific and technical consulting	580	7.9	1.18×About typical	6,148	$100,550	4,674
Legal services	552	7.6	1.41×More than typical	2,174	$100,462	1,227
Limited-service restaurants	549	7.5	0.94×About typical	7,168	$25,997	93

Rank places for an industry Open Norfolk County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 730,453 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $61.8M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Dedham, Massachusetts: $2,450 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $61.8M; −21% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2,450; US $1,994
Sole-source: 86%; US 30%
Single offer: 1.2%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Air Force$50M81%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$4.4M7.1%
Department of the Army$3.6M5.8%
Federal Bureau of Investigation$2.3M3.8%
Department of Veterans Affairs$1.3M2.1%
Defense Logistics Agency$443.1K0.7%
Department of Energy$231.2K0.4%
Social Security Administration$173.3K0.3%

Top recipients

GENERAL DYNAMICS MISSION SYSTEMS, INC.$55.3M89%
JET SECURITY LLC$4.4M7.1%
CREATIVE DENTAL IMAGES INC.$1.3M2.1%
GENERAL DYNAMICS MISSION SYSTEMS, INC.$1.2M2.0%
ROBICHEAU NICOLE M$173.3K0.3%

Spending by fiscal year

23.5MFY2017
5.9MFY2018
7MFY2019
24.8MFY2020
19.7MFY2021
22.6MFY2022
32.9MFY2023
65M

Top industries (NAICS)

Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing · 3344$33.5M54%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$15.3M25%
Communications equipment manufacturing · 3342$4.9M8.0%
Investigation and security services · 5616$4.4M7.1%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$2.3M3.7%
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Dedham, Massachusetts

THE NGSS SUITE IS COMPRISED OF THREE (3) SENSOR OPEN SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE (SOSA)-ALIGNED, 3U OPENVPX FORM FACTOR PLUG-IN CARDS (PICS), ONE EACH FOR TCDS, MLSW, AND SACDS.$60M
GENERAL DYNAMICS MISSION SYSTEMS, INC.· Norfolk County, MA· Other equipment & supplies· Dec 12, 2024 – May 4, 2026· FA205725CB002
NG IHPS - PRODUCTION FAIR OPPORTUNITY FOR 21,162 UNITS$37.6M
AVON PROTECTION CERADYNE LLC· Norfolk County, MA· Other equipment & supplies· Jun 30, 2023 – Apr 21, 2026· W91CRB23F0250
GLOBAL AIRCREW STRATEGIC NETWORK TERMINAL INCREMENT 2 (GASNTI2), BLOCK 1 IS A REQUIREMENT FOR A NUCLEAR HARDENED AND SURVIVABLE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM TO ENABLE AIRCREW ING AND COMMUNICATION.$33.4M
GENERAL DYNAMICS MISSION SYSTEMS, INC.· Norfolk County, MA· Other equipment & supplies

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Dedham, Massachusetts, so they do not add up across cities.

Dedham, Massachusetts's figures are part of those of Norfolk County, MA ($265.4M in FY2026), never added to them: 23% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Dedham is mostly in Norfolk County.

See federal money in Norfolk County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Dedham, Massachusetts is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Norfolk County93100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH89

Other cities and towns in Norfolk County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2516530

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends