Norfolk County, Massachusetts


Norfolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2010 census, the population was 670,850. Its county seat is Dedham. It is the fourth most populous county in the United States whose county seat is neither a city nor a borough, and it is the second most populous county that has a county seat at a town. 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 33rd highest-income county in the United States with a median household income of $81,899. It is the wealthiest county in Massachusetts.

History

Norfolk County, Massachusetts was created on March 26, 1793, by legislation signed by Governor John Hancock. Most of the towns were originally part of Suffolk County, Massachusetts. The towns of Dorchester and Roxbury were part of Norfolk County when it was created but, as Boston annexed each town, they became part of Suffolk County again. Hingham and Hull were originally part of the Norfolk County legislation but petitioned to remain in Suffolk county and in June 1793 their removal to Norfolk county was repealed. In 1803, they were moved into Plymouth County, Massachusetts.
Norfolk County is the birthplace of four Presidents of the United States, resulting in the moniker "County of Presidents."

Sheriffs

There have been 21 sheriffs of Norfolk County.
YearsSheriff
2018-presentJerry McDermott
1999-2018Michael G. Bellotti
1996-1999John H. Flood
1975-1996Clifford H. Marshall
1961-1975Charles Hedges
1958-1961Peter M. McCormack
1939-1958Samuel Wragg
1898-1939Samuel Capen
1885-1898Augustus B. Endicott
1878-1885Rufus Corbin Wood
1857-1878John W. Thomas
1853-1857Thomas Adams
1852-1853John W. Thomas
1848-1852Thomas Adams
1843-1848Jerauld N. E. Mann
1834-1843John Baker, II
1812-1834Elijah Crane
1811-1812William Brewer
1810-1811Elijah Crane
1798-1810Benjamin Clark Cutler
1794-1798Atherton Thayer
1793-1794Ebeneezer Thayer

Treasurers

Registers of Deeds

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. 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 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 and Brookline refused to be annexed by Boston after the Brookline-Boston annexation debate of 1873.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

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 1,628 people per square mile. There were 255,154 housing units at an average density of 639 per square mile. 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 English, 2.3% Chinese in any dialect, 2.0% Spanish, 1.0% Italian and 1.0% French as their first language.
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. 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.

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. The largest ancestry groups were:
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.
The median income for a household in the county was $81,027 and the median family income was $101,870. Males had a median income of $68,070 versus $51,870 for females. The per capita income for the county was $42,371. About 4.1% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 6.9% 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.
RankTownPer capita
income		Median
household
income		Median
family
income		PopulationNumber of
households
DoverCDP$91,039$183,125$212,1252,322725
1DoverTown$82,800$184,646$200,7355,5641,765
2WellesleyTown$65,394$145,208$175,15627,8188,553
3BrooklineTown$63,964$97,250$142,18058,37124,891
4NeedhamTown$60,972$121,080$160,45528,78610,350
5CohassetTown$59,891$117,831$147,2227,4832,706
6WestwoodTown$59,422$120,078$151,97614,5085,172
7MedfieldTown$56,905$128,446$139,24712,0044,011
Chestnut Hill ZCTA$55,947$114,140$151,37521,9526,237
8SharonTown$53,687$121,265$142,46317,5386,268
MedfieldCDP$47,660$107,386$127,6326,3942,357
9WrenthamTown$47,119$100,938$119,18810,8793,978
SharonCDP$46,079$102,521$124,4055,5322,007
10CantonTown$45,991$90,951$111,77021,4088,460
11MiltonTown$44,718$104,713$129,23426,8288,956
12MedwayTown$44,472$106,058$119,86412,6704,433
13WalpoleTown$43,983$90,763$109,03523,8628,626
Norfolk CountyCounty$43,685$83,733$106,309666,426255,944
14NorfolkTown$42,452$118,809$132,25011,1513,125
15FoxboroughTown$42,236$92,370$108,20916,7346,470
WalpoleCDP$41,820$89,327$99,8086,1192,522
16DedhamTown$41,143$83,364$105,58624,5219,528
Millis-ClicquotCDP$39,884$82,798$103,7504,3701,831
17MillisTown$39,344$90,360$99,9767,8523,043
18FranklinCity$39,043$92,066$109,60231,31710,866
19BraintreeCity$37,317$83,710$97,26235,40913,267
20PlainvilleTown$36,802$81,371$102,7808,1763,232
FoxboroughCDP$36,239$61,771$91,9915,2062,388
21NorwoodTown$35,997$73,838$95,39728,48311,559
22WeymouthCity$35,939$68,594$86,97253,56522,543
MassachusettsState$35,051$65,981$83,3716,512,2272,522,409
BellinghamCDP$33,927$81,941$87,6064,5801,833
23BellinghamTown$33,170$83,534$93,65516,1655,879
24QuincyCity$32,911$60,947$77,23191,48439,965
25StoughtonTown$32,363$68,191$87,07026,89310,455
26AvonTown$31,304$72,880$89,2144,3411,609
27HolbrookTown$29,940$63,790$76,56810,7494,193
28RandolphCity$29,210$64,465$77,66131,86712,041
United StatesCountry$27,915$52,762$64,293306,603,772114,761,359

Religion

*congregations
**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.
OfficeCurrent OfficeholderHometownNext Election
County CommissionersFrancis W. O'Brien Dedham2020
County CommissionersJoseph P. Shea Quincy2020
County CommissionersPeter H. Collins Milton2022
District AttorneyMichael W. Morrissey Quincy2022
Clerk of CourtsWalter F. Timilty, Jr. Milton2024
Register of DeedsWilliam P. O'Donnell Norwood2024
SheriffJerry P. McDermott Westwood2020
2022
County TreasurerJames E. Timilty Walpole2020
Register of ProbatePatrick W. McDermott Quincy2020

Politics

Like the majority of Massachusetts, Norfolk County leans Democratic. The last time it voted for a Republican candidate was in 1984, during Ronald Reagan's landslide victory in which he carried every state except Minnesota and Washington, D.C.
Voter registration and party enrollment as of October 13, 2010Voter registration and party enrollment as of October 13, 2010Voter registration and party enrollment as of October 13, 2010Voter registration and party enrollment as of October 13, 2010Voter registration and party enrollment as of October 13, 2010Voter registration and party enrollment as of October 13, 2010
PartyPartyNumber of votersPercentage--

Communities

Cities

Note: West Roxbury, Roxbury, Dorchester, Hyde Park, 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