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.

History

The Town of Norwood, officially formed in 1872, was until that time part of Dedham, known as the “mother of towns”, as fourteen of the present communities of eastern Massachusetts lay within its original borders. Long used as a hunting ground by Native Americans, Norwood was first settled by Ezra Morse in 1678. He set up a sawmill in what is now South Norwood, the part of town to which the first concentration of families, almost all of whom were farmers, migrated over the next half-century.^{[citation needed]}

During the American Revolution, there was a Minuteman company organized in the area. Its captain, Aaron Guild, on learning of the British marching on Lexington and Concord to seize the munitions stored there, rode to join the fight and arrived in time to fire on the British at Concord Bridge and participate in the running battle that chased the Redcoats back to Boston.^{[citation needed]}

Abraham Lincoln passed through the town during his pre-inaugural tour of New England.

The Oak View Mansion, located in Norwood, was built by Francis Olney Winslow. Construction began in 1868 and was completed in 1870. Oak View was the scene of almost constant socializing. Some of the most prominent figures hosted in Oak View were President and future Supreme Court Justice William Howard Taft and President Calvin Coolidge.^{[citation needed]}

The town shares its name with a town in the borough of Croydon, South London, England. When Norwood separated from Dedham, they considered naming the new community Balch, after the Rev. Thomas Balch.

Education

The Norwood Public Schools operates seven schools, and an additional school institution, The Willett Early Childhood Center (serves preschool and kindergarten children). The public elementary schools located in Norwood include: Balch, Callahan, Cleveland, Oldham, and Prescott.

Norwood has one public middle school, the Dr. Philip O. Coakley Middle School (serving 6th through 8th graders) (formerly Norwood Junior High South), where all five elementary schools combine. Norwood also has a public high school, Norwood High School (NHS), (serves grades 9–12).

Demographics

As of 2023 Norwood’s racial demographics are

These results seem to underreport the community’s diversity, however. Norwood has many middle eastern families which show up on the census as white.

As of the census of 2010, there were 30,602 people. The racial makeup of the town was 80.92% White, 8.01% Black or African American, 0.09% Native American, 9.57% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.77% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.58% of the population. 27.3% were of Irish descent.

As of the census of 2000, there were 28,587 people, 11,623 households, and 7,380 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,727.0 inhabitants per square mile (1,052.9/km²). There were 11,945 housing units at an average density of 1,139.5 per square mile (440.0/km). The racial makeup of the town was 90.51% White, 2.31% Black or African American, 0.09% Native American, 5.06% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.77% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.65% of the population. 34.7% were of Irish, 14.8% Italian, 5.4% American and 5.0% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 11,623 households, out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 20.8% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $58,421, and the median income for a family was $70,164 (these figures had risen to $66,743 and $80,292 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $50,597 versus $34,312 for females. The per capita income for the town was $27,720. About 2.7% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.5% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.