Wayland was the first settlement of Sudbury Plantation in 1638. The Town of East Sudbury was incorporated on April 10, 1780, on land east of the Sudbury River that had formerly been part of Sudbury. On March 11, 1835, East Sudbury became Wayland, a farming community, presumably in honor of Dr. Francis Wayland, who was president of Brown University and a friend of East Sudbury’s Judge Edward Mellen. Both Wayland and Mellen became benefactors of the town’s library, the first free public library in the state.

The Wayland Free Public Library was established in 1848 and is arguably the first in Massachusetts The building was rebuilt in 1900, and is a landmark in the town of Wayland.

In 2010, Boston Duck Tours was asked to help transport flood victims in Wayland. Torrential rains had left Pelham Island area of Wayland isolated and the Ducks were brought in to ferry people in and out of their neighborhood until the waters receded.

The Wayland display server protocol is named after the town.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 15.9 square miles (41 km²), of which 15.2 square miles (39 km²) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²), or 4.21%, is water. Wayland borders Lincoln, Sudbury, Weston, Framingham, and Natick.

As of the census of 2010, there were 13,444 people, 4,808 households, and 3,676 families residing in the town. The population density was 859.9 people per square mile (332.1/km²). There were 5,021 housing units at an average density of 310.8 per square mile (120.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 87.2% White, 0.9% African American, 0.0% Native American, 9.9% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.4% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.4% of the population.

As of 2000, there were 4,625 households, out of which 41.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.5% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.5% were non-families. 16.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.7% under the age of 18, 3.4% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 29.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $121,036, and the median income for a family was $204,033.47. Males had a median income of $136,344 versus $60,875 for females. The per capita income for the town was $75,144. About 2.1% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.9% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or over.

The town is part of the Massachusetts Senate’s Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex district.