Its HDI is 0.790.Although located in the heart of a traditionally industrial region, its main source of income is the service sector, featuring 77 healthcare installations.

[citation needed] Until the 1940s, Diadema was constituted by four neighborhoods belonging to São Bernardo do Campo: Piraporinha, Eldorado, Taboão e Vila Conceição.

With the village came progress, which began in 1900 with the construction of a steam-powered sawmill owned by Antônio Piranga, son of José Pedroso.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the old cattle route (Estrada da Vila Conceição) began to undergo a process of industrialization and urbanization.

The campus of the Universidade Federal de São Paulo, founded in 2007, provides degrees in chemistry, chemical engineering, pharmacy, and biology.