Dedham, MA: Local News, Events & Neighbors

Dedham ( DED-əm) is a town in, and the county seat of, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Located on Boston's southwestern border, the population was 25,364 at the 2020 census. First settled by English colonists in 1635 and incorporated in 1636, Dedham established the first public school in America in 1643. Dedham is home to the Fairbanks House, the oldest surviving timber-frame house in the United States. On January 1, 1643, by unanimous vote, Dedham authorized the first taxpayer-funded public school, "the seed of American education." The first man-made canal in North America, Mother Brook, was created in Dedham in 1639. The town took an active part in the American Revolution an…

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From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

How Dedham ranks

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#103Most educated in MA #111Highest income in MA #112Most remote workers in MA All MA rankings →

Town numbers

ZIP code02026, 02027

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Living in Dedham

Housing in Dedham

$765K▲ 2.3% in a year Typical home value · Zillow

The typical Dedham home is worth about $765,000, up 2.3% in a year, 16% above the Massachusetts typical home.

A balanced market

Buyer’sBalancedSeller’s

Days on market19

Sale-to-list101.8%

Sold in May16

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Safety in Dedham

C⁺

Safety Grade C+

Dedham reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 59% report less.

Violent crime per 1,000

Dedham 2

Massachusetts 3

U.S. 3.3

Property crime per 1,000

Dedham 15

Massachusetts 10.4

U.S. 15.5

FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to policeCrime & safety →

Schools in Dedham

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B

School Grade B

The public schools Dedham’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 56% of Massachusetts’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they sit near the middle.

#119Best public schoolsof 282 in MA

DistrictDedhamSchools10

Avery C+Elementary · Grades 1–5 · 321 students Greenlodge A-Elementary · Grades 1–5 · 320 students Early Childhood CenterElementary · Grades PK–K · 285 students Oakdale BElementary · Grades 1–5 · 262 students Riverdale BElementary · Grades 1–5 · 206 students Dedham Middle School B-Middle · Grades 6–8 · 555 students

School data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES, EDFacts). The School Grade is our own summary of state test results and graduation rates, graded within MA. Ratings are from neighbors.

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