City Of Newton
History and Profile
The City of Newton was settled in 1639 and incorporated as a city in 1873. The city is approximately 8 miles west of downtown Boston and comprises a patchwork of thirteen villages. The city borders Boston to the northeast and southeast (via the neighborhoods of Brighton and West Roxbury), Brookline to the east, Watertown and Waltham to the north, and Weston, Wellesley, and Needham to the west. A 2025 population estimate reveals a population of 88,978 for the city and occupies a land area of 18.15 square miles. The city is principally suburban-residential in character and consists of 13 distinct villages – Auburndale; Chestnut Hill; Newton Centre; Newton Corner; Newton Highlands; Newton Lower Falls; Newton Upper Falls; Newtonville; Nonantum; Oak Hill; Thompsonville; Waban; and West Newton. Open space comprises 18.4% of the City’s total land area, of which 49% is publicly owned. Newton has a diversified economic base with approximately 46,300 individuals employed in over 4,000 establishments within the boundaries of the city, with an estimated annual payroll in excess of $6 billion. Businesses are generally small and service-oriented with professional, business, education, and health services accounting for over 60% of all jobs. Commercial uses occupy 4.5% of the City’s land area. Over 34% of commercial land parcels are office uses; 12% are small retail uses; and 5% are storage or warehouse uses. Only 0.6% of the City’s land area is industrial. Newton is a desirable community to live and work in due to its proximity to Boston; an excellent public school system; multiple transportation systems; attractive neighborhoods; high property values; and well managed local government. Newton has an award-winning public library and a city museum that was a stop on the Underground
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