Foxborough, Massachusetts Foxboro | |
|---|---|
 Downtown Foxborough, withBoston visible in the distance  Congregational Church | |
 Seal | |
| Nickname: The Gem of Norfolk County | |
 Location in Norfolk County in Massachusetts | |
| Coordinates:42°03′55″N71°14′54″W / 42.06528°N 71.24833°W /42.06528; -71.24833 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| County | Norfolk |
| Settled | 1704 |
| Incorporated | June 10, 1778 |
| Named after | Charles James Fox |
| Government | |
| • Type | Open town meeting |
| • Town Manager | Paige Duncan[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 20.9 sq mi (54.1 km2) |
| • Land | 20 sq mi (52 km2) |
| • Water | 0.81 sq mi (2.11 km2) |
| Elevation | 285 ft (87 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 18,618 |
| • Density | 927.3/sq mi (358.04/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (Eastern) |
| ZIP Code | 02035 |
| Area code | 508/774 |
| FIPS code | 25-24820 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0618320 |
| Website | www |
Foxborough is a town inNorfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in theGreater Boston metropolitan area, it is about 22 miles (35 km) southwest ofBoston. The population was 18,618 at the2020 census.
"Foxborough" is the official spelling of the town name per local government,[3] but the abbreviated spelling "Foxboro" is common and is used by theUnited States Postal Service.[4]
Foxborough is the site ofGillette Stadium, home of theNew England Patriots of theNational Football League and theNew England Revolution ofMajor League Soccer.
Settled in 1704 and incorporated in 1778, the town of Foxborough was named forCharles James Fox, aWhig member ofParliament and a staunch supporter of theColonies in the years leading up to theAmerican Revolution.
The town was once home to the world's largeststraw hat factory, erected in 1886. The building became the Bay State Boot and Shoe Company which closed in 1891. In 1894, the building became the Inman and Kimball hat factory. It burned to the ground during a spectacular mid-day fire in 1936. The Foxborough Post Office now stands on the site.
Foxborough was composed of small neighborhood communities until the early 1900s. These included Foxvale/Paineburgh, which remained semi-independent until the early twentieth century; Quaker Hill in South Foxborough; and Lakeview/Donkeyville in West Foxborough.
Schaefer Stadium (later known as Sullivan Stadium, then Foxboro Stadium) opened in 1971 as the home of theNew England Patriots, after the football team spent its first eleven seasons playing at various stadiums inBoston. The family ofBilly Sullivan owned both the Patriots and the stadium until they sold the team in 1988. The stadium, however, lapsed into bankruptcy and was then bought by paper magnateRobert Kraft. With Kraft in control of Foxboro Stadium, he prevented the Patriots from relocating toSt. Louis in 1994 by refusing to let the team break their lease, then bought the Patriots outright. Kraft then founded theNew England Revolution, one of the charter clubs ofMajor League Soccer, in 1996.
Gillette Stadium opened in 2002 as a replacement for Foxboro Stadium. ThePatriot Place shopping plaza, built on land surrounding the stadium bought by Kraft, completed construction in 2009. The plaza includes a variety of restaurants, clothing stores, and other retailers.
Foxborough hosted multiple matches during the1994 FIFA World Cup atFoxboro Stadium and will do so again during the2026 FIFA World Cup atGillette Stadium.[5]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 20.9 sq mi (54.1 km2), of which 20.1 sq mi (52.0 km2) is land and 0.81 sq mi (2.1 km2) (3.88%) is water.
For the purposes of theUnited States Census Bureau, the built-up central area of Foxborough known as the Foxborough Census Designated Place (CDP) has a total area of 7.6 km2 (2.9 sq mi), of which 7.5 km2 (2.9 sq mi) is land and 0.1 km2 (0.039 sq mi) (1.69%) is water.
Foxborough's climate ishumid continental (Köppen: Dfa) with four distinct seasons, which is the predominant climate forMassachusetts andNew England.[6] Summers are typically warm to hot, rainy, and humid, while winters are cold, windy, and snowy. Spring and fall are usually mild, but conditions are widely varied, depending on wind direction and jet stream positioning. The warmest month is July, with an average high temperature of 83 °F and an average low temperature of 62 °F. The coldest month is January, with an average high temperature of 36 °F and an average low temperature of 18 °F. Periods exceeding 90 °F in summer and below 10 °F in winter are not uncommon but rarely extended, with about 14 days per year seeing the former extreme. Because of the town's relatively short distance from the Atlantic Ocean, temperatures tend to remain warmer than locations further inland. Like the rest of the northeastern seaboard, precipitation is distributed fairly evenly throughout the entire year, with the winter months receiving slightly more precipitation than the summer months. Powerful storm systems known asNor'easters can produce heavy amounts of rain and snow at any time of the year, but these storms most often strike during the winter months, causing significant snowfall amounts andblizzard conditions.Thunderstorms occur somewhat frequently in the summer, occasionally bringing heavy downpours, damaging winds, andhail.Tornado activity is relatively low in the area, although there have been a fair share oftornado warnings issued over the years. Due to its location along the United States eastern seaboard, Foxborough is somewhat vulnerable to Atlantichurricanes andtropical storms that threaten the region from late summer into early autumn.
| Climate data for Foxborough, Massachusetts | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 68 (20) | 70 (21) | 90 (32) | 96 (36) | 96 (36) | 97 (36) | 102 (39) | 102 (39) | 97 (36) | 87 (31) | 78 (26) | 76 (24) | 102 (39) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 36 (2) | 40 (4) | 48 (9) | 59 (15) | 70 (21) | 78 (26) | 83 (28) | 81 (27) | 73 (23) | 62 (17) | 52 (11) | 41 (5) | 60.25 (15.69) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 18 (−8) | 21 (−6) | 28 (−2) | 37 (3) | 47 (8) | 57 (14) | 62 (17) | 61 (16) | 53 (12) | 42 (6) | 33 (1) | 24 (−4) | 40.25 (4.58) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −19 (−28) | −16 (−27) | −4 (−20) | 14 (−10) | 28 (−2) | 37 (3) | 42 (6) | 39 (4) | 30 (−1) | 20 (−7) | 4 (−16) | −14 (−26) | −19 (−28) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 3.78 (96) | 3.68 (93) | 4.81 (122) | 4.39 (112) | 3.65 (93) | 4.08 (104) | 3.91 (99) | 3.91 (99) | 3.66 (93) | 4.35 (110) | 4.46 (113) | 4.52 (115) | 49.2 (1,250) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 15.0 (38) | 11.9 (30) | 9.6 (24) | 2.6 (6.6) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.2 (0.51) | 2.1 (5.3) | 11.5 (29) | 52.8 (134) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 11.0 | 9.5 | 11.6 | 11.8 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.2 | 9.4 | 8.9 | 10.1 | 11.3 | 11.1 | 128.5 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 7.3 | 5.9 | 4.8 | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 5.2 | 25.7 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 164.3 | 169.5 | 213.9 | 228.0 | 266.6 | 288.0 | 300.7 | 275.9 | 237.0 | 207.7 | 144.0 | 142.6 | 2,638.2 |
| Source 1: Weather Channel[7] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: NOAA (extremes 1904–present)[8] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 1,880 | — |
| 1860 | 2,879 | +53.1% |
| 1870 | 3,057 | +6.2% |
| 1880 | 2,950 | −3.5% |
| 1890 | 2,933 | −0.6% |
| 1900 | 3,266 | +11.4% |
| 1910 | 3,863 | +18.3% |
| 1920 | 4,136 | +7.1% |
| 1930 | 5,347 | +29.3% |
| 1940 | 6,303 | +17.9% |
| 1950 | 7,030 | +11.5% |
| 1960 | 10,136 | +44.2% |
| 1970 | 14,218 | +40.3% |
| 1980 | 14,148 | −0.5% |
| 1990 | 14,637 | +3.5% |
| 2000 | 16,246 | +11.0% |
| 2010 | 16,865 | +3.8% |
| 2020 | 18,618 | +10.4% |
| 2022* | 18,488 | −0.7% |
| * = population estimate. Source:United States census records andPopulation Estimates Program data.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Source: U.S. Decennial Census[20] | ||
As of thecensus[21] of 2000, there were 16,246 people, 6,141 households, and 4,396 families residing in the town. The population density was 809.1 inhabitants per square mile (312.4/km2). There were 6,299 housing units at an average density of 313.7 units per square mile (121.1 units/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.09%White, 0.82%Black orAfrican American, 0.11%Native American, 1.22%Asian, 0.01%Pacific Islander, 0.20% fromother races, and 0.54% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino people of any race were 1.06% of the population.
There were 6,141 households, out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.9% weremarried couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.4% were non-families. Of all households 23.4% were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the town, 26.5% of the population was under the age of 18, 5.0% was from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $64,323, and the median income for a family was $78,811. Based on data from the 2007–2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, these figures have risen to $92,370 as the median income for a household in the town and $108,209 as the median income for a family.[22][23][24] Males had a median income of $51,901 versus $35,748 for females. Theper capita income for the town was $32,294, but this figure has risen to $42,236. About 2.3% of families and 3.1% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 2.0% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.
The built-upcentral business district is designated by theUnited States Census Bureau as the FoxboroughCensus Designated Place for record keeping purposes (this is common among many larger populationNew England towns).
As of thecensus[21] of 2000, there were 5,509 people, 2,486 households, and 1,372 families residing in the CDP. Thepopulation density was 730.9 people/km2 (1,893 people/sq mi). There were 2,576 housing units at an average density of 341.8 units/km2 (885 units/sq mi). The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.57%White, 1.42%Black orAfrican American, 0.13%Native American, 1.07%Asian, 0.29% fromother races, and 0.53% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino people of any race were 1.60% of the population.
There were 2,486 households, out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.9% weremarried couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.8% were non-families. Of all households 37.8% were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the CDP, 21.7% of the population was under the age of 18, 5.3% was from 18 to 24, 35.0% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $50,431, and the median income for a family was $58,924. Males had a median income of $42,030 versus $35,370 for females. Theper capita income for the CDP was $31,245. About 4.1% of families and 5.1% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.
Points of interest include:
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(September 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Foxborough is run by a five-member board of selectmen and elected town officials like the town moderator and town clerk. Day-to-day operations involving items under the Board of Selectmen's purview is handled by an appointed Town Manager. Stephanie A. McGowan is the chair.
TheFoxborough Public Schools district administers the following schools:
34. Inman-kimball hat factory. Foxboro history. Sun chronicle ’then and now’ May 5, 2018
Municipalities and communities ofNorfolk County, Massachusetts,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Towns | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Other villages | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
.jpg)
