Wellesley is a medium-sized town located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 30,733 people and six associated neighborhoods, Wellesley is the 64th largest community in Massachusetts. Much of the housing stock in Wellesley was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic towns in the country.
Wellesley home prices are not only among the most expensive in Massachusetts, but Wellesley real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.
Also of interest is that Wellesley has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
Of important note, Wellesley is also a town of artists. Wellesley has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Wellesley’s character.
A relatively large number of people in Wellesley telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 28.16% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
Wellesley is also a college town, where lots of students live while attending area colleges. Because of the high percentage of people living in Wellesley enrolled in college, Wellesley has a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared towards the needs and activities of students.
Because of many things, Wellesley is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Wellesley really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Wellesley perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic nightlife, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live.
For the size of the town, public transportation in Wellesley is quite heavily used. Mostly, people who use it for their daily commute are taking the train. For Wellesley, the benefits are reduced air pollution and congestion on the highways.
If knowledge is power, Wellesley is a pretty powerful place. 86.19% of the adults in Wellesley have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.
The per capita income in Wellesley in 2022 was $111,690, which is wealthy relative to Massachusetts and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $446,760 for a family of four.
Wellesley is a very ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Wellesley home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Wellesley residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Wellesley include Irish, English, Italian, German, and Polish.
In addition, Wellesley has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (17.41%).
The most common language spoken in Wellesley is English. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and Spanish.