Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Encyclopedia : N : NO : NOR : Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Norfolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of 2000, the population was 650,308. Its county seat is Dedham6.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,150 km² (444 mi²). 1,035 km² (400 mi²) of it is land and 115 km² (44 mi²) of it (9.99%) is water. The county is not fully contiguous; the towns of Brookline and Cohasset are part of Norfolk County but are surrounded on all sides by other counties.Adjacent Counties
- Middlesex County (north)
- Suffolk County (northeast)
- Plymouth County (southeast)
- Bristol County (south)
- Providence County, Rhode Island (southwest)
- Worcester County (west)
Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 650,308 people, 248,827 households, and 165,967 families residing in the county. The population density was 628/km² (1,628/mi²). There were 255,154 housing units at an average density of 247/km² (639/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.02% White, 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% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.There were 248,827 households out of which 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 all households were made up of individuals and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the county the population was spread out with 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% who were 65 years of age 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 income for a household in the county was $63,432, and the median income for a family 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.
Trivia
Norfolk County, Massachusetts is the birthplace of four of the 42 individuals who have held the office of President of the United States: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, John F. Kennedy, and George H.W. Bush. During the Bush presidency, it was the birthplace of four of the then 40 Presidents, a full ten percent.It is the birthplace of both of the major parties' (Republican and Democratic) candidates in the 1988 U.S. Presidential election, Bush and Michael Dukakis.
As noted above under geography, it is non-contiguous, having not one, but two, outlying exclaves, the town of Brookline, surrounded by Middlesex County and Suffolk County , and the town of Cohasset, surrounded by Plymouth County and the ocean. Brookline was separated when the former towns of West Roxbury and Hyde Park were annexed by Boston and became part of Suffolk County.
It is the second Massachusetts county to bear the same name. The defunct "Old" Norfolk County, which was in a different part of the state, existed in the early colonial period in the seventeenth century. (See Norfolk County, Massachusetts Colony.)
Cities, towns, and villages*
- Avon
- Bellingham
- Braintree
- Brookline
- Canton
- Cohasset
- Dedham
- Dover
- Foxborough
- Franklin
- Holbrook
- Medfield
- Medway
- Millis
- *Clicquot (a village of Millis)
- Milton
- Needham
- Norfolk
- Norwood
- Plainville
- Quincy
- Randolph
- Sharon
- Stoughton
- Walpole
- Wellesley
- Westwood
- Weymouth
- Wrentham
External links
- [Norfolk County official site]
- [National Register of Historic Places listing for Norfolk Co., Massachusetts]
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