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2 Geography 3 Demographics |
History and Culture
Newton was settled in 1630 as part of Watertown and became a separate town known as Cambridge Village in 1688. It was renamed Newtown in 1691 and finally Newton in 1766. It became a city in 1873.
There are several institutions of higher learning in the city, including Boston College, Andover Newton Theological School, Aquinas College, Lasell College, Hebrew College, and Mount Ida College. The city also has two symphony orchestras, the New Philharmonia and the Newton Symphony Orchestra. The Newton Free Library has more than 440,000 volumes.
The Jackson Homestead, a farmhouse in the Federal style built in 1809, is now a museum with paintings, costumes, photographs, manuscripts, maps and historical artifacts. It was also a station on the Underground Railroad.
A popular cookie, the Fig Newton, is named after the city.
The Stanley Steamer automobile was manufactured in Newton.
Newton was the home of the Gamewell Fire Alarm Company, manufacturer of public fire alarm "pull boxes" and other fire alarm systems.
Geography
Newton is located at 42°20'16" North, 71°12'36" West (42.337713, -71.209936)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 47.1 km² (18.2 mi²). 46.7 km² (18.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.82% water.
The city is bordered by Waltham and Watertown on the north, Needham and the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston on the south, Wellesley and Weston on the west, and Brookline and the Brighton neighborhood of Boston on the east. It is well-served by two modes of mass transit. A light rail line, running through the center of the city, makes very frequent 30 minute trips to downtown Boston. The commuter rail, serving the Northern villages of Newton that are proximate to Waltham, offers less frequent service to Boston. It runs from every half-an-hour during peak times to every couple of hours otherwise.
Newton has no single city center, but is divided up into "villages", each with a name and a small "downtown" of its own. Although some of the villages have a post office, they have no legal definition and no firmly defined borders. The villages are Newton Corner, Newtonville, West Newton, Nonantum (also called Silver Lake), Newton Upper Falls, Newton Lower Falls (both on the Charles River, which winds through the city), Newton Centre (with this spelling), Waban, Auburndale, Chestnut Hill, Newton Highlands, Oak Hill, Thompsonville. See the web page The Thirteen Villages of Newton. The city is sometimes called "The Newtons".
The city is located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 83,829 people, 31,201 households, and 20,499 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,793.2/km² (4,643.6/mi²). There are 32,112 housing units at an average density of 686.9/km² (1,778.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 88.07% White, 1.97% African American, 0.07% Native American, 7.68% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.71% from other races, and 1.46% from two or more races. 2.52% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 31,201 households out of which 31.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% are married couples living together, 8.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% are non-families. 25.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.51 and the average family size is 3.04.
In the city the population is spread out with 21.2% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 39 years. For every 100 females there are 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 82.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $86,052, and the median income for a family is $125,289. Males have a median income of $65,565 versus $46,885 for females. The per capita income for the city is $45,708. 4.3% of the population and 2.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 4.8% are under the age of 18 and 5.0% are 65 or older.