Norfolk County, Massachusetts

Norfolk County ( ) is a county located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. At the 2020 census, the population was around 725,981. Its county seat is Dedham. The county was named after the English county of the same name. Two towns, Cohasset and Brookline, are exclaves. Norfolk County is included in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metropolitan Statistical Area. Norfolk County is the 24th highest-income county in the United States with a median household income of $107,361. It is the wealthiest county in Massachusetts.

History

One of the original counties of the Massachusetts Bay Colony created on May 10, 1643, was called Norfolk, and is unrelated to the current Norfolk County. It covered territory in what is now New Hampshire, and was abolished on September 18, 1679, when King Charles II separated the Colony of New Hampshire from Massachusetts.

Shortly after the Constitution of Massachusetts was adopted on October 25, 1780, a number of towns in Suffolk County, of which Dedham was then a part, elected delegates to a convention to decide upon some policy relative to the division of the county. The convention met at Gay's Tavern in Dedham on December 12, 1780, and adopted a resolution to the effect that the towns of Bellingham, Dedham, Foxborough, Franklin, Medfield, Medway, Needham, Stoughton, Stoughtonham, Walpole, and Wrentham, along with the Middlesex County towns of Holliston, Hopkinton, Natick, and Sherborn ought to be formed into a new county with Medfield as the shiretown. The Great and General Court did not look favorably upon the resolution, however, and no new county was then created.

Norfolk County, Massachusetts was created on June 20, 1793. Legislation passed in March which separated off all the towns in Suffolk County except Boston and Chelsea (which at the time included what are now Revere and Winthrop). Dedham was designated as the "shire town". Hingham and Hull petitioned to remain in Suffolk County and on the day the law was to take effect, their removal to Norfolk County was repealed, making Cohasset an exclave. In 1803, they were moved into Plymouth County, Massachusetts.

Jails

Following the creation of the county, Gay's Tavern was the site of a Court of General Sessions on August 25, 1794. They ordered that the committee on buildings proceed with collecting materials for building a jail. On the last day of September following this order, the court accepted from Timothy Gay the gift of a parallelogram lot of land to erect the Norfolk County Jail next to his tavern.

It was replaced by a new Norfolk County Jail in 1817. It is the third-smallest county in Massachusetts by total area. The county is not completely contiguous; the towns of Brookline and Cohasset are each part of Norfolk County but are separated from the majority of Norfolk County (and each other) by either water or other counties. At the county's formation, Hingham and Hull were to be part of it, but joined Plymouth County instead, leaving Cohasset as the initial exclave of Norfolk County and an enclave of Plymouth County. Brookline became the second exclave of Norfolk County in 1873 when the neighboring town of West Roxbury was annexed by Boston (thus leaving Norfolk County to join Suffolk County) and Brookline refused to be annexed by Boston after the Brookline-Boston annexation debate of 1873.

Adjacent counties

Middlesex County (northwest)
Suffolk County (north)
Plymouth County (southeast)
Bristol County (south)
Providence County, Rhode Island (southwest)
Worcester County (west)

National protected areas

Adams National Historical Park
Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area (part)
Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site

Major highways

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 725,981. Of the residents, 20.5% were under the age of 18 and 17.7% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 41.2 years. For every 100 females there were 92.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.4 males. 98.0% of residents lived in urban areas and 2.0% lived in rural areas.

The racial makeup of the county was 71.6% White, 7.1% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 12.2% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.6% from some other race, and 6.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 5.2% of the population.

There were 278,326 households in the county, of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 27.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

!Pop 2010

!% 2000

!% 2010

|White alone (NH)

|571,733

|538,758

|style='background: #ffffe6; |512,421

|87.91%

|80.30%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |70.58%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|20,106

|36,329

|style='background: #ffffe6; |49,311

|3.09%

|5.41%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |6.79%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|716

|811

|style='background: #ffffe6; |701

|0.11%

|0.12%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.09%

|Asian alone (NH)

|35,643

|57,625

|style='background: #ffffe6; |88,240

|5.47%

|8.58%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |12.15%

|Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|122

|107

|style='background: #ffffe6; |142

|0.01%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.01%

|Other race alone (NH)

|2,101

|4,117

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7,344

|0.32%

|0.61%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.01%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|7,897

|11,099

|style='background: #ffffe6; |29,712

|1.21%

|1.65%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.09%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|11,990

|22,004

|style='background: #ffffe6; |38,110

|1.84%

|3.28%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.24%

|Total

|650,308

|670,850

|style='background: #ffffe6; |725,981

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 670,850 people, 257,914 households, and 168,903 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 270,359 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 82.3% white, 8.6% Asian, 5.7% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 1.3% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.3% of the population.

31.8% Irish
15.5% Italian
11.0% English
7.0% German
4.6% French
4.3% Chinese
4.1% Polish
3.2% Russian
3.1% American
2.8% Scottish
2.6% French Canadian
2.4% Scotch-Irish
2.0% West Indian
2.0% Sub-Saharan African
1.9% Portuguese
1.8% Swedish
1.6% Indian
1.4% Arab
1.4% Greek
1.2% Canadian
1.1% Vietnamese
1.1% Lithuanian

Of the 257,914 households, 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.5% were non-families, and 27.6% of households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.15. The median age was 40.7 years.

2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 650,308 people, 248,827 households, and 165,967 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 255,154 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 89.02% White or European American, 3.18% Black or African American, 0.13% Native American, 5.50% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.78% from other races, and 1.37% from two or more races. 1.84%. were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 28.6% were of Irish, 13.4% Italian, 7.7% English and 5.0% descendants of colonists ancestry according to Census 2000. 85.7% spoke only English at home, while 2.3% spoke Chinese in any dialect, 2.0% Spanish, 1.0% Italian and 1.0% French at home.

Of the 248,827 households 31.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.20% were married couples living together, 9.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.30% were non-families. 26.80% of households were one person and 10.80% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.14.

The age distribution was 23.40% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 31.60% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 14.40% 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.60 males.

The median household income was $63,432 and the median family income was $77,847 (these figures had risen to $77,294 and $95,243 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $51,301 versus $37,108 for females. The per capita income for the county was $32,484. About 2.90% of families and 4.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.40% of those under age 18 and 5.70% of those age 65 or over.

Demographic breakdown by town

Income

The ranking of unincorporated communities that are included on the list are reflective if the census-designated locations and villages were included as cities or towns. Data is from the 2007–2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|- valign=bottom

! Rank

! Town

! Per capita income

! Median household income

! Median family income

! Population

! Number of households

| Dover

| CDP

| $91,039

| $183,125

| $212,125

| 2,322

| 725

| 1

| Dover

| Town

| $82,800

| $184,646

| $200,735

| 5,564

| 1,765

| 2

| Wellesley

| Town

| $65,394

| $145,208

| $175,156

| 27,818

| 8,553

| 3

| Brookline

| Town

| $63,964

| $97,250

| $142,180

| 58,371

| 24,891

| 4

| Needham

| Town

| $60,972

| $121,080

| $160,455

| 28,786

| 10,350

| 5

| Cohasset

| Town

| $59,891

| $117,831

| $147,222

| 7,483

| 2,706

| 6

| Westwood

| Town

| $59,422

| $120,078

| $151,976

| 14,508

| 5,172

| 7

| Medfield

| Town

| $56,905

| $128,446

| $139,247

| 12,004

| 4,011

| Chestnut Hill (02467)

| ZCTA

| $55,947

| $114,140

| $151,375

| 21,952

| 6,237

| 8

| Sharon

| Town

| $53,687

| $121,265

| $142,463

| 17,538

| 6,268

| Medfield

| CDP

| $47,660

| $107,386

| $127,632

| 6,394

| 2,357

| 9

| Wrentham

| Town

| $47,119

| $100,938

| $119,188

| 10,879

| 3,978

| Sharon

| CDP

| $46,079

| $102,521

| $124,405

| 5,532

| 2,007

| 10

| Canton

| Town

| $45,991

| $90,951

| $111,770

| 21,408

| 8,460

| 11

| Milton

| Town

| $44,718

| $104,713

| $129,234

| 26,828

| 8,956

| 12

| Medway

| Town

| $44,472

| $106,058

| $119,864

| 12,670

| 4,433

| 13

| Walpole

| Town

| $43,983

| $90,763

| $109,035

| 23,862

| 8,626

| Norfolk County

| County

| $43,685

| $83,733

| $106,309

| 666,426

| 255,944

| 14

| Norfolk

| Town

| $42,452

| $118,809

| $132,250

| 11,151

| 3,125

| 15

| Foxborough

| Town

| $42,236

| $92,370

| $108,209

| 16,734

| 6,470

| Walpole

| CDP

| $41,820

| $89,327

| $99,808

| 6,119

| 2,522

| 16

| Dedham

| Town

| $41,143

| $83,364

| $105,586

| 24,521

| 9,528

| Millis-Clicquot

| CDP

| $39,884

| $82,798

| $103,750

| 4,370

| 1,831

| 17

| Millis

| Town

| $39,344

| $90,360

| $99,976

| 7,852

| 3,043

| 18

| Franklin

| City

| $39,043

| $92,066

| $109,602

| 31,317

| 10,866

| 19

| Braintree

| City

| $37,317

| $83,710

| $97,262

| 35,409

| 13,267

| 20

| Plainville

| Town

| $36,802

| $81,371

| $102,780

| 8,176

| 3,232

| Foxborough

| CDP

| $36,239

| $61,771

| $91,991

| 5,206

| 2,388

| 21

| Norwood

| Town

| $35,997

| $73,838

| $95,397

| 28,483

| 11,559

| 22

| Weymouth

| City

| $35,939

| $68,594

| $86,972

| 53,565

| 22,543

| Massachusetts

| State

| $35,051

| $65,981

| $83,371

| 6,512,227

| 2,522,409

| Bellingham

| CDP

| $33,927

| $81,941

| $87,606

| 4,580

| 1,833

| 23

| Bellingham

| Town

| $33,170

| $83,534

| $93,655

| 16,165

| 5,879

| 24

| Quincy

| City

| $32,911

| $60,947

| $77,231

| 91,484

| 39,965

| 25

| Stoughton

| Town

| $32,363

| $68,191

| $87,070

| 26,893

| 10,455

| 26

| Avon

| Town

| $31,304

| $72,880

| $89,214

| 4,341

| 1,609

| 27

| Holbrook

| Town

| $29,940

| $63,790

| $76,568

| 10,749

| 4,193

| 28

| Randolph

| City

| $29,210

| $64,465

| $77,661

| 31,867

| 12,041

| United States

| Country

| $27,915

| $52,762

| $64,293

| 306,603,772

| 114,761,359

Religion

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan="9" |Religious Affiliation in Norfolk County

!Year

! colspan="2" |1980

! colspan="2" |1990

! colspan="2" |2000

! colspan="2" |2010

!Religion

!C*

!A**

|Anabaptist (Mennonite)

|n/a

|88

|45

|n/a

|Ba'haism

|n/a

|180

|198

|Baptist

|29

|7,063

|29

|7,936

|32

|4,992

|46

|5,558

|Brethren

|95

|50

|n/a

|Buddhism

|n/a

|1,653

|Catholicism

|64

|304,137

|63

|336,797

|63

|380,930

|52

|355,321

|Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

|432

|648

|1,150

|1,262

|Congregationalism/ United Church of Christ

|35

|16,786

|43

|19,016

|41

|22,049

|42

|12,879

|Christian Science

|n/a

|350

|n/a

|Episcopalianism/Anglicanism

|31

|17,955

|30

|12,905

|31

|12,778

|33

|11,016

|Hinduism

|n/a

|37

|Independent/nondenominational

|n/a

|800

|n/a

|20

|2,620

|Islam

|n/a

|3,782

|4,616

|Jainism

|n/a

|Judaism

|20

|8,258

|41

|37,123

|41

|38,300

|20

|19,709

|Lutheranism

|13

|4,629

|10

|2,843

|2,593

|2,227

|Methodism/Holiness

|25

|7,937

|21

|7,114

|24

|7,097

|23

|5,667

|Messianic Judaism

|n/a

|Orthodoxy

|n/a

|7,543

|3,539

|Pentecostalism

|945

|1,382

|12

|2,540

|17

|2,485

|Presbyterianism

|1,380

|1,424

|1,558

|1,196

|Seventh-day Adventism/ Jehovah's Witnesses

|52

|2,900

|367

|537

|Sikhism

|n/a

|Quakerism

|192

|190

|106

|224

|Unitarian-Universalism

|18

|4,719

|17

|4,591

|17

|2,644

|17

|3,102

|Zoroastranianism

|n/a

|16

<nowiki>*</nowiki>congregations <nowiki>**</nowiki>adherents

Government

The county has offices in Dedham Square. It runs the Norfolk County Correctional Center, the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds, and the Norfolk County Courthouse.

Current elected officials

All eligible voters of Norfolk County vote for three County Commissioners, a District Attorney, a Clerk of Courts, a Register of Deeds, a Sheriff, a County Treasurer, and a Register of Probate.

County Commissioners are elected for a four-year term; two Commissioners are elected to coincide with presidential elections, and one Commissioner is elected during the midterm elections. All three Commissioners must hail from a different municipality. The District Attorney is elected every four years coinciding with the midterm elections. The Clerk of Courts and Register of Deeds are elected every six years coinciding with the elections of Class I US Senators. The County Treasurer and Register of Probate are elected every six years coinciding with the elections of Class II US Senators. The Sheriff is elected every six years coinciding with the elections of Class III US Senators.

{|class=wikitable

!Office !! Current Officeholder !! Hometown !! Next Election

|rowspan="3" | County Commissioners

|style="background:#B0CEFF;"|Richard R. Staiti (Democratic)

|Canton

|rowspan="2" | 2024

|style="background:#B0CEFF;"|Joseph P. Shea (Democratic)

|Milton

|2026

|District Attorney

|style="background:#B0CEFF;"|Michael W. Morrissey (Democratic)

|Quincy

|2026

|Clerk of Courts

|style="background:#B0CEFF;"|Walter F. Timilty Jr. (Democratic)

|Milton

|2024

|Register of Deeds

|style="background:#B0CEFF;"|William P. O'Donnell (Democratic)

|Norwood

|2024

|Sheriff

|style="background:#B0CEFF;"|Patrick W. McDermott (Democratic)

|Quincy

|2028

|County Treasurer

|style="background:#B0CEFF;"|Michael G. Bellotti (Democratic)

{| class="wikitable" margin-left:1em"

!style="background:#efefef; |Years

!style="background:#efefef |Sheriff

! colspan = 2 | Party

! Number of voters

! Percentage

| Democratic

| align = center | 159,956

| align = center | 35.28%

| Republican

| align = center | 53,556

| align = center | 11.81%

| Unenrolled

| align = center | 237,810

| align = center | 52.45%

| Minor Parties

| align = center | 2,054

| align = center | 0.45%

! colspan = 2 | Total

! align = center | 453,376

! align = center | 100%

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:95%;"

|+ Gubernatorial elections results

|- bgcolor=lightgrey

! Year

! Republican

! Democratic

! Third parties

| style="text-align:center;" |2022

| style="text-align:center;" |33.90% 96,607

| style="text-align:center;" |64.49% 183,795

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.61% 4,583

| style="text-align:center;" |2018

| style="text-align:center;" |69.07% 209,318

| style="text-align:center;" |30.59% 92,709

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.34% 1,018

| style="text-align:center;" |2014

| style="text-align:center;" |52.97% 133,328

| style="text-align:center;" |42.86% 107,891

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|4.17% 10,503

| style="text-align:center;" |2010

| style="text-align:center;" |44.20% 119,850

| style="text-align:center;" |44.19% 119,806

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|11.61% 31,489

| style="text-align:center;" |2006

| style="text-align:center;" |38.60% 99,995

| style="text-align:center;" |52.08% 134,916

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|9.32% 24,139

| style="text-align:center;" |2002

| style="text-align:center;" |53.45% 140,440

| style="text-align:center;" |41.94% 110,198

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|4.61% 12,098

| style="text-align:center;" |1998

| style="text-align:center;" |52.11% 120,729

| style="text-align:center;" |46.18% 106,999

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.71% 3,958

| style="text-align:center;" |1994

| style="text-align:center;" |71.57% 187,155

| style="text-align:center;" |27.72% 72,479

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.72% 1,877

| style="text-align:center;" |1990

| style="text-align:center;" |51.80% 149,521

| style="text-align:center;" |45.78% 132,141

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.43% 7,012

Communities

thumb|Map of Norfolk County, showing cities, towns, census-designated areas, and ocean areas

Cities

Braintree
Franklin
Quincy (largest city)
Randolph
Weymouth

Towns

Avon
Bellingham
Brookline
Canton
Cohasset
Dedham (traditional county seat)
Dover
Foxborough
Holbrook
Medfield
Medway
Millis
Milton
Needham
Norfolk
Norwood
Plainville
Sharon
Stoughton
Walpole
Wellesley
Westwood
Wrentham

Note: West Roxbury (annexed to Boston 1874), Roxbury (annexed to Boston 1868), Dorchester (founded 1630, annexed to Boston 1870), Hyde Park (incorporated 1868 from Dorchester, Milton, and Dedham, annexed to Boston 1912), and Hingham and Hull were originally part of Norfolk County when the county was incorporated in 1793. As of August 2012, Hingham's Precinct 2 will be part of the Fourth Norfolk District.

Census-designated places

Bellingham
Dover
Foxborough
Medfield
Millis-Clicquot
Sharon
Walpole

Education

thumb|Postcard of [[Quincy High School (Massachusetts)|Quincy High School, circa 1930s]]

School districts include:

K-12:

Avon School District
Bellingham School District
Braintree School District
Brookline School District
Canton School District
Cohasset School District
Dedham School District
Foxborough School District
Franklin School District
Holbrook School District
Medfield School District
Medway School District
Millis School District
Milton School District
Needham School District
Norwood School District
Quincy School District
Randolph School District
Sharon School District
Stoughton School District
Walpole School District
Wellesley School District
Westwood School District
Weymouth School District

Secondary:

Dover-Sherborn School District
King Philip School District

Elementary:

Dover School District
Norfolk School District
Plainville School District
Wrentham School District

thumb|Norfolk County Agricultural High School, in Walpole, seen in 2012

Regional vocational High Schools:

Blue Hills Regional Technical
Norfolk County Agricultural
Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical

Notes

References

</references>

Works cited

Bibliography

History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, by Duane Hamilton Hurd. Published by J.W. Lewis & Co., 1884. 1001 pages.
History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, 1622-1918 by Louis Atwood Cook. Published by The S.J. Clarke publishing company, 1918. Volume 1.

External links

Norfolk County official site

History

Jails

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Major highways

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

2000 census

Demographic breakdown by town

Income

Religion

Government

Current elected officials

Communities

Cities

Towns

Census-designated places

Education

See also

Notes

References

Works cited

Bibliography

External links