Needham, MA: town finances
Low debt and solid savings (9% of budget); override vote unlikely despite little room under the tax cap.
Budget grade
Better than 49% of MA towns · score 79 of 100
± Borderline: the score is within 2 points of the B/C cutoff, so a small change in the data could move the budget grade.
Ability to pay
Top 10% for income and property value
Shown separately; not part of the budget grade. Income per resident $102,328 (Census ACS 2020-24); property value (EQV) per resident $443,945 (DLS 2024).
Chance of an override vote
2 points on our 0-8 scale: Low 0-2, Medium 3-4, High 5+. It ranks towns; it is not a percentage.
The story in charts
Needham: room under the cap and no override since 2014, but bills up 81%
Needham also appears in: School budgets grew faster than 2.5% a year in all eight towns, even where students left · Cost per student rose 44–71% in seven of eight towns, while enrollment fell in six · The wealthiest big suburbs: fewer students, costlier schools, tax bills ahead of inflation
Key numbers
| Measure | Needham | Median MA town |
|---|---|---|
| Typical tax bill, FY2026 (average single-family) | $16,690 | $6,755 |
| Tax bill as a share of median household income | 7.8% | 6.4% |
| Tax bill growth per year, FY2016-26 | 5.70% | 3.95% |
| Override vote dates, last 5 years | No | 35% of towns had one |
| Savings (reserves), % of budget, FY2024-26 average | 9.0% | 7.3% |
| Debt, % of property value, FY2023-25 (voter-approved debt at half weight) | 0.68% | 0.70% |
| Debt payments inside the tax cap, % of budget | 5.0% | 1.3% |
| Unused room under the tax cap, FY2026 (% of max levy) | 0.70% | 0.34% |
| School enrollment, 5-year change | -1% | -2% |
| Students per teacher, 2025-26 | 11.8 | 11.4 |
| Median single-family sale price, 2024 | $1.8M (222 sales) | $614k |
| Single-family price change, 2019-24 | +51.5% | +52.8% |
| Median household income (Census, 2020-24) | $214,308 | $113,750 |
| Population (DLS) | 32,114 | 10,585 |
Main school district: Needham. Shaded = worse than the median town on tax bill share or enrollment. Medians are across all 351 towns with data.
Why this budget grade
Budget grade B, solid (79/100, near the B/C line; better than 49% of MA towns): reserves averaged 9% of budget over FY2024-26 (state median 7.3%); debt 0.68% of property value with voter-approved debt at half weight (0.91% before; median 0.70%); debt payments inside the tax cap 5% of budget (median 1.3%). 49% of debt payments are voter-approved and paid outside the cap.
Why this chance of an override vote
Chance of an override vote: Low (2 pts): little room under the tax cap (0.70% of max levy, +2).
Context, not scored
Teacher jobs +0.8% last year; enrollment -1% over 5 yrs; tax bill 7.8% of median income (state median 6.4%).
"pts" are points toward the chance of an override vote. Max levy is the most the town can raise without a vote under Prop 2½. See how the budget grade works.
See this town in the full data table →
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