A town where residents earn on average at least $110,000 in income has been recognized as Massachusetts’s biggest boomtown.
Towns experiencing rapid growth due to sudden prosperity within the area are known as boomtowns. Wellesley, a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, and the halfway point of the famous Boston Marathon, officially took the cake as the state’s largest one, GoBankingRates reported.
The first-place crowning comes less than two years after Worcester, a city in central Massachusetts, was named the biggest.
So how did Wellesley jump ahead so fast? There’s a lot of reasons why.
Population growth, income growth, economic growth and housing growth are just some of the driving forces, but the town always seemed to show potential from the very beginning.
Wellesley has always been full of stunning homes on beautiful, well-kept land. By 1880, the pace of life was quickening.
There was the first newspaper, bank and telephone along with the development of new churches and homes, according to the town’s website.
Progress only just continued. Most modern conveniences had already replaced traditional ones within the decade.Â
Wellesley, a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, where its residents earn at least $110,000 in income, was recognized as the state’s largest boomtown

Its new status has a lot to do with the education in the area. Wellesley is home to Wellesley College, one of the most academically challenging, yet rewarding, institutions of higher education in the country and a top woman’s college in the world
With money, political experience and community spirit, the town fathers decided that the town should develop as a ‘carefully planned and lovingly nurtured town’, according to the town’s website.
Before the turn of the century, there were railroad stations, the first golf course in the state, a successful water system, town improvement societies, playgrounds, trolley cars, excellent schools, carefully planned neighborhoods and residents full of optimism.Â
By the 1920s, the town was already recognized as one of the leading suburban areas in all of Boston.Â
Prosperity and affluence in the 20th century eventually pushed Wellesley’s potential all the way to today as the biggest boomtown in the state.
Firstly, the town’s population growth was a key factor in its prosperity. The town experienced a 3.4 percent increase of residents since 2014, bumping the total population up to 29,862.
Secondly, the change of occupied housing units experienced a 4 percent increase while the change in owner-occupied units heightened by 6.1 percent.
Lastly, and most shockingly, the per-capita income experienced a whopping 35.8 percent increase. The current income for the town’s residents is reported as a minimum of $111,690.
The change in per-capita income has a lot to do with the town’s public schools, which are consistently ranked top 10 in the state. Additionally, the proximity to private schools is efficiently close.Â

The per-capita income of Wellesley experienced a whopping 35.8 percent increase from 2014. The current income for the town’s residents is reported as a minimum of $111,690

Firstly, the town’s population growth was a key factor in its prosperity. The town experienced a 3.4 percent increase of residents since 2014, bumping the total population up to 29,862
Wellesley is also home to Wellesley College, a top woman’s college in the world.Â
According to the school’s website, Wellesley graduates have went on to become powerful forces of good in the world for nearly 150 years.
Pioneering scientists, environmental revolutionaries, US secretaries of state, civil rights activists, investment trailblazers, network news producers and genre-defying activists are just some of the jobs graduates have landed.
Some of the most notable alumnae include Madeleine Albright, Hilary Clinton, Diane Sawyer, Susan Wagner and Cokie Roberts.
Winifred Edgerton Merrill, who graduated in 1883, went on to become the first woman to receive a PhD in mathematics.
Eleanor Raymond, who graduated in 1909, designed and built the first occupied solar-powered house in the nation.
After receiving her diploma in 1969, Eleanor D. Acheson became the Assistant Attorney General of the United States.
Michelle Carusa-Cabrera went on to be a reporter for CNBC and an Emmy Award winner after graduating in 1991.

Madeleine Albright, a former US Secretary of State under Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001, graduated from Wellesley CollegeÂ

Hillary Clinton, the former US Secretary of State in the Obama administration, is one of the most notable faces to graduate from Wellesley CollegeÂ

Diane Sawyer, an American television broadcast journalist known for anchoring several programs on two networks, was a graduate of Wellesley CollegeÂ
Harriet Stratemeyer Adams graduated in 1914 and ended up writing the beloved Nancy Drew series under the pen name Carolyn Keene.
Julia Collins, a graduate from 2005, still holds the second-longest Jeopardy winning streak as the best female champion.
The list goes on and on – proving that the school truly is one of the most academically challenging, yet rewarding, institutions of higher education in the country.
Due to the presence of Wellesley College and the large population of highly educated residents, a significant portion of the workforce is employed in fields related to education, healthcare, finance and technology.
The most common industry for residents overall is Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, with 2,684 people being employed within the sector, Data USA reported.
At least 2,281 people work in Education Services. An additional 1,807 people are employed within the Finance and Insurance industry.Â
As of this past January, the median value of a home in Wellesley was $1.97 million, Building A Better Wellesley reported.
A quote from an article dating back to 1906 described the town’s spirit as being full of pride. To this day, many residents insist that the statement still holds true, according to the town’s website.
‘The citizens of the town of Wellesley, both collectively and individually, are constantly endeavoring to obtain for their town, their homes and themselves all that is best from Nature and Art,’ the quote said.
‘Fine old trees line the roads; handsome buildings have been erected for the public schools; even the railroad stations are objects of beauty. There are many fine residences… no saloons, but numerous athletic, social and literary societies.’
‘A vast tract of woodland furnishes pleasant paths for long, lonely strolls… Wellesley, a residential village with no manufacturing, has long been noted for its pure water and invigorating air,’ it continued.
‘It is believed that this fine village is absolutely free from all evil influences which tend to corrupt youth.’