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Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of encompassing the municipality of , the capital of the U.S. state of and the most populous city in New England, and its surrounding areas, home to 4,941,632. The most stringent definition of the region, used by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, consists of most of the eastern third of mainland Massachusetts, excluding the and most of Southeastern Massachusetts, though most definitions (including the U.S. Census definition) include much of these areas and portions of southern .

While the city of Boston covers and has 675,647 residents as of the 2020 census, the urbanization has extended well into surrounding areas and the Combined Statistical Area (CSA in the rest of the document), which includes the Providence, Rhode Island, Manchester, New Hampshire, and Worcester areas, has a population of more than 8.4 million people, making it one of the most populous such regions in the U.S.

Some of Greater Boston's most well-known contributions involve the region's higher education and medical institutions. Greater Boston has been influential upon American history and industry. The region and the state of Massachusetts are global leaders in , artificial intelligence, , higher education, , and .

Greater Boston is ranked tenth in population among US metropolitan statistical areas, home to 4,941,632 people as of the 2020 United States census, and sixth among combined statistical areas, with a population of 8,466,186. The area has hosted many people and sites significant to American culture and history, particularly American literature, , and the American Revolution.

Plymouth was the site of the first colony in New England, founded in 1620 by the , passengers of the . In 1692, the town of Salem and surrounding areas experienced one of America's most infamous cases of , the Salem witch trials. In the late 18th century, Boston became known as the "Cradle of Liberty" for the agitation there that led to the American Revolution.

The Greater Boston region has played a powerful scientific, commercial, and cultural role in the history of the United States. Before the American Civil War, the region was a center for the abolitionist, temperance, and transcendentalist

(2025). 9780820329581, University of Georgia Press; First edition (April 25, 2007).
movements. In 2004, Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to legally recognize same-sex marriage as a result of the decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Boston. Many prominent American political dynasties have hailed from the Boston region, including the and families.

Harvard University in Cambridge is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, founded in 1636, with the largest financial endowment of any university, and whose Law School has spawned a contemporaneous majority of United States Supreme Court Justices. in Cambridge has been called "the most innovative square mile on the planet", in reference to the high concentration of and quality of innovation which have emerged in the vicinity of the square since 2010. Both Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also in Cambridge, have been ranked among the most highly regarded academic institutions in the world.


Geography

Boundary definitions

Metropolitan Area
The most restrictive definition of the Greater Boston area is the region administered by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. The MAPC is a regional planning organization created by the Massachusetts legislature to oversee transportation infrastructure and economic development concerns in the Boston area. The MAPC includes 101 cities and towns that are grouped into eight subregions. These include most of the area within the region's outer circumferential highway, I-495. In 2013, the population of the MAPC district was 3.2 million, which was 48% of the total population of Massachusetts, in an area of , of which 39% is forested and an additional 11% is water, wetland, or other open space.

The cities and towns included in this definition are:


New England City and Town Area
Two definitions are used by the United States Census to define the Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA–NH Metro Area or Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA–NH Metropolitan NECTA, which is defined as a New England City and Town Area. The metro area definition is based on counties, while the NECTA definition is based on city and town boundaries. Counties included in the county-based definition include:

  • Essex County, Massachusetts
  • Middlesex County, Massachusetts
  • Norfolk County, Massachusetts
  • Plymouth County, Massachusetts
  • Suffolk County, Massachusetts
  • Rockingham County, New Hampshire
  • Strafford County, New Hampshire

The NECTA definition includes all of the communities from the MAPC definition, as well as the communities, parts of southern (northward to Milford and Hampton, and the Taunton area.


Combined Statistical Area
The widest definition of the metropolitan area based on commuting patterns, is defined by the U.S. Census as the Boston–Worcester–Providence combined statistical area. This area consists of the following counties in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire:

  • Massachusetts
    • Barnstable County, Massachusetts
    • Bristol County, Massachusetts
    • Essex County, Massachusetts
    • Middlesex County, Massachusetts
    • Norfolk County, Massachusetts
    • Plymouth County, Massachusetts
    • Suffolk County, Massachusetts
    • Worcester County, Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
    • Belknap County, New Hampshire
    • Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
    • Merrimack County, New Hampshire
    • Rockingham County, New Hampshire
    • Strafford County, New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
    • Bristol County, Rhode Island
    • Kent County, Rhode Island
    • Newport County, Rhode Island
    • Providence County, Rhode Island
    • Washington County, Rhode Island

The total population for the extended region was estimated at 8,466,186 at the 2020 census.


Subregions
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
    • Lakes Region
    • Seacoast
  • Rhode Island
    • Blackstone Valley
    • East Bay


Climate
The Boston area has humid continental climates ( Dfa and Dfb under the Köppen climate classification system), with high and year-round.


Demographics
Greater Boston has a sizable Jewish community, estimated at between 210,000 people, and 261,000 or 5–6% of the Greater Boston metro population, compared with about 2% for the nation as a whole. Contrary to national trends, the number of Jews in Greater Boston has been growing, fueled by the fact that 60% of children in Jewish mixed-faith families are raised Jewish, compared with roughly one in three nationally. The 2020 PRRI Atlas found that 35% of the Boston metro area identified as Protestant while 26% identified as Catholic.

The City of Boston also has one of the largest populations per capita. It ranks fifth of all major cities in the country (behind , and slightly behind , , and ), with 12.3% of the city identifying as gay, lesbian, or bisexual.

Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Essex County, Massachusetts
Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Rockingham County, New Hampshire
Strafford County, New Hampshire
Total

The 40 most diverse Census tracts in the Boston CSA:

1Dorchester9163,1381232152614
2Pawtucket1614,607282428118
3Pawtucket1514,472242429123
4Pawtucket1644,938292621220
5Dorchester9123,234302422618
6Dorchester921016,451302211316
7Brockton51154,308213213232
8Brockton5113,040283315124
9New Bedford65191,942261133129
10Mission Hill808013,885322035102
11Pawtucket1542,258352035011
12Brockton51143,716243614223
13Brockton51092,531243616124
14Brockton51033,798233815224
15Brockton51043,706193815225
16Dorchester909013,730381821204
17Worcester7333,762381037124
18Providence263,098232239106
19Malden34154,780392314195
20Cambridge35242,126273916125
21South End712023,131391924153
22Brockton5113015,334393111217
23Providence152,994281341144
24613,098411529114
25Lynn20722,939301242132
26Cambridge35496,05835309205
27South Boston611012,232202142142
28Brockton51167,211422910216
29Roxbury8013,350154328111
30Lowell31145,986441114265
31Brockton51086,339184412222
32Mission Hill810014,890451419192
33Malden34186,554462013165
34South Boston6071,893192046105
35Brockton51075,65646318411
36Brockton51124,849472611113
37Somerville3514044,289477221311
38Lynn20713,513181148193
39Framingham3831014,923231048118
40Mission Hill8114,091482115132

The 40 census tracts in the Boston CSA with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Hispanic or Latino:

1Lawrence25253,81094
2Lawrence25092,19393
3Lawrence25043,85890
4Lawrence25032,10189
5Lawrence25133,72189
6Lawrence25121,35686
7Lawrence25074,75686
8Lawrence2511,78285
9Chelsea16024,04383
10Lawrence25065,59983
11Lawrence25145,05377
12Chelsea1601017,55176
13Lawrence25012,32975
14Lawrence25165,97774
15Lawrence25112,93773
16Lawrence25025,52472
17Chelsea16042,71671
18Chelsea1605015,60471
19Providence168,54070
20Lawrence25156,14970
21Worcester7320013,32767
225062,06367
23East Boston5025,23166
24East Boston5074,50465
25East Boston509014,16565
26Providence26,45264
27Providence43,76164
28Providence146,69363
29Providence53,04063
30Central Falls115,53463
31Lawrence25086,93263
32Chelsea1605024,46062
33Methuen25244,17562
34Providence173,74462
35Providence187,11461
36Central Falls1114,17661
37East Boston501015,11561
38Lawrence25175,14561
39Providence37,71460
40Central Falls1084,76359

Census tracts in the Boston CSA with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Black American:

1Mattapan1011013,11584
2Mattapan1011024,39684
3Mattapan1010015,48083
4Mattapan10033,30380
5Mattapan10022,78778
6Mattapan1010024,97977
7Dorchester9232,89377
8Roxbury822,81574
9Roxbury8173,82071
10Hyde Park14047,65071
11Roxbury9014,57171
12Dorchester9193,86070
13Dorchester10044,86568
14Roxbury8193,11566
15Roxbury9245,27766
16Roxbury8182,89865
17Mattapan10015,51064
18Roxbury8152,13462
19Roxbury8215,02562
20Roxbury8031,76960
21Roxbury9033,17958
22Dorchester10094,07258
23Dorchester10055,90955
24Hyde Park14036,38254
25Dorchester924,94554
26Roxbury9022,23353
27Dorchester9183,45252
28Roxbury9043,65952
29Roxbury8143,00350
30Roxbury804012,71050
31Roslindale1401061,90149
32Dorchester9173,06947
33Dorchester9142,74146
34Brockton51086,33944
35Roxbury8053,09644
36Roxbury8013,35043
37Randolph4203027,70342
38Roxbury8134,76042
39Dorchester9223,34942
40Randolph4202026,30340

Census tracts in the Boston CSA with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Asian American:

1South End704021,72370
2Chinatown7025,21858
3Lowell31123,26755
4Lowell31183,51354
5Lowell31175,09847
6Quincy4175024,63945
7Quincy41728,18244
8Malden34135,43939
9Lowell31134,05738
10Westborough7424023,02638
11Quincy4175015,00437
12Cambridge3531025,04036
13Quincy4178023,15035
14Lowell31112,41034
15Lowell31152,97433
16Dorchester921016,45131
17Quincy4176015,19630
18Fenway–Kenmore101034,56929
19Quincy41800027,02028
20Quincy4176025,15528
21Chinatown/Leather District/Downtown701015,90227
22Cambridge35397,09027
23Lowell31145,98626
24Lowell31165,29526
25Lowell31074,44126
26Quincy41714,26426
27Dorchester9163,13826
28Malden34126,85725
29Malden3411024,56425
30Malden3411013,67525
31Acton3631025,90925
32Dorchester9114,86125
337032,79124
34Lexington35835,52624
35Quincy4180044,28023
36Brookline40093,86522
37Cambridge35324,89722
38Cambridge3521011,65422
39Shrewsbury73919,55722
40Westborough76125,78022

Census tracts in the Boston CSA with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Irish American:

601013,10668
Milton4164006,06963
Charlestown0404012,43963
Dorchester10074,32263
South Boston6083,96462
South Boston6044,90461
Milton4161015,72458
Marshfield5062044,88657
Weymouth4221005,29357
Quincy4178015,44355
Hull5001013,70255
Scituate5051013,86055
West Roxbury1304024,63754
Quincy4174002,56653
South Boston603013,07652
Abington5201006,45852
Braintree4192005,00252
Braintree4196006,76652
Abington5202013,95252
Pembroke5082006,03152

Census tracts in the Boston CSA with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Italian American:

Johnston0124022,48663
Cranston0145015,17958
Johnston0125005,49057
Johnston0122007,18757
Providence0119024,78055
Cranston0148005,59155
Saugus2081023,34351
Cranston0143004,71649
Cranston0146006,99149
Cranston0145024,09648
Johnston0123006,65648
Johnston0124016,95048
Stoneham3371025,04245
Stoneham3372024,84945
Revere1702004,56445
Revere1705022,81843
Cranston0139002,99243
Revere1703009,04043
North Providence0121032,96543

Census tracts in the Boston CSA with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Portuguese American:

New Bedford6528003,27772
Fall River6406004,45069
Dartmouth6532035,00565
New Bedford6524002,66464
New Bedford6520002,67662
Fall River6405005,16560
Fall River6412002,80359
New Bedford6505003,14158
Fall River6409015,07158
New Bedford6504003,77357
New Bedford6525002,58956
East Providence0104006,66155
New Bedford6523002,87054
Fall River6410002,41954
Fall River6403003,69353
Westport6461017,35653
Fall River6407002,90053
Fall River6404002,68253
New Bedford6501015,75353
Fall River6401005,35852

Census tracts in the Boston CSA with French or French Canadian listed as first ancestry:

Woonsocket0185002,83166
Woonsocket0177003,51861
Woonsocket0175003,12859
Woonsocket0178002,51458
Burrillville0130013,47956
North Smithfield0128022,39154
North Smithfield0128034,77653
Burrillville0130027,53953
North Smithfield0128014,80052
Manchester0023003,75852
Woonsocket0179003,04951
Burrillville0129004,93750
Manchester0002022,29749
Manchester0021004,78249
Woonsocket0176002,56049
Manchester0026005,74648
Manchester0022003,23247
Woonsocket0184006,52747
Blackstone7471015,11047
Woonsocket0180002,68046


Largest cities and towns
Cities and towns with a population over 50,000 as of the 2020 census include:

State capital
State largest city

1.
2.Worcester
3.Providence
4.Cambridge
5.Manchester
6.Lowell

7.Brockton
8.Quincy
9.Lynn
10.New Bedford
11.Fall River
12.Nashua
13.Lawrence
14.Newton
15.Cranston
16.Warwick
17.Somerville
18.Pawtucket
19.Framingham

20.Haverhill
21.Malden
22.Waltham
23.Brookline
24.Revere
25.Plymouth
26.Medford
27.Taunton
28.Weymouth
29.Peabody
30.Methuen


Education
A long established center of higher education, the area includes many community colleges, two-year schools, and internationally prominent undergraduate and graduate institutions. The graduate schools include highly regarded schools of law, medicine, business, technology, international relations, public health, education, and religion. Greater Boston contains seven R1 Research Institutions as per the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. This is, by far, the highest number of such institutions in a single Metropolitan Statistical Area in the .


Economy

Major companies
References:[1] [2]

  • Abbott Laboratories, in Worcester (pharmaceutical laboratory)
  • Advanced Cell Technology, in Worcester (research laboratory)
  • Akamai Technologies, in Cambridge (headquarters)
  • , in Boxborough
  • American Tower (headquarters)
  • , in Norwood
  • , in Waltham (R&D)
  • , in Watertown, Massachusetts (headquarters)
  • Atlantic Broadband, in Quincy
  • Atlantic Tele-Network, in Beverly
  • Au Bon Pain (headquarters)
  • , in Burlington (headquarters)
  • , in Acton
  • Bain & Company, in Boston (headquarters)
  • , in Boston (headquarters)
  • , in Cambridge (headquarters)
  • Bertucci's Corporation, in Northborough (headquarters)
  • , in Medford (North American headquarters)
  • , in Weston (North American headquarters)
  • BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc., in Westborough (headquarters)
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (headquarters)
  • , in Framingham (headquarters)
  • Boston Consulting Group (headquarters)
  • Boston Properties, Inc., in Boston (headquarters)
  • Boston Scientific Corporation, in Marlborough (headquarters)
  • Carl Zeiss SMT, in Peabody (North American headquarters)
  • Charles River Laboratories, in Wilmington (headquarters)
  • , in Boxborough
  • , in Waltham
  • Converse (headquarters)
  • David Clark Company, in Worcester (manufacturer of space suits)
  • Dell Technologies, in Hopkinton (headquarters)
  • , in Marlborough (regional headquarters)
  • Dunkin' Brands, in Canton (headquarters)
  • , in Marlborough (headquarters)
  • , in Cambridge
  • Fidelity Investments (headquarters)
  • General Electric Aviation, in Lynn
  • (headquarters)
  • The Gillette Company, now owned by Procter & Gamble (headquarters)
  • , in Waltham (headquarters)
  • , in Cambridge
  • , in Braintree
  • , in Marlborough (regional headquarters)
  • Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (headquarters)
  • , in Boston
  • , in Waltham, Cambridge and Littleton
  • Innerscope Research, in Boston (headquarters)
  • Intel Corporation, in Hudson
  • , in Cambridge (headquarters)
  • , in Burlington (headquarters)
  • John Hancock Financial Services, Inc, now the United States division of Canada's Manulife Financial
  • , in Burlington (headquarters)
  • Kronos Incorporated, in Chelmsford, Massachusetts (headquarters)
  • (headquarters)
  • , in Waltham (US headquarters)
  • (headquarters)
  • (headquarters)
  • , in Natick
  • , Inc, in Framingham (headquarters)
  • , in Westwood (headquarters)
  • , in Cambridge
  • Millennium Pharmaceuticals, in Cambridge
  • MITRE Corporation, in Bedford (headquarters)
  • , in Cambridge (headquarters)
  • Motorola Solutions, Inc., in Somerville
  • National Amusements, in Norwood (headquarters)
  • National Grid, in Waltham (US headquarters)
  • NetApp Inc, in Waltham
  • (headquarters)
  • , in Burlington
  • , in Cambridge (US headquarters)
  • Novell, Inc., in Waltham
  • Nuance Communications, in Burlington
  • Oracle Corporation in Burlington
  • in Danvers (headquarters)
  • OutStart, Inc., in Boston (headquarters)
  • Partners HealthCare (moving to , Somerville)
  • Philips Healthcare, in Andover (global headquarters) and Framingham
  • in Burlington
  • , in Andover (regional headquarters)
  • Progress Software in Bedford (headquarters)
  • PTC (headquarters)
  • Puma (North American headquarters, moving to , Somerville)
  • Putnam Investments (headquarters)
  • Rapid7
  • , in Waltham (headquarters)
  • , in Westford (engineering headquarters)
  • (US headquarters)
  • Reed & Barton in Taunton (factory and headquarters)
  • , in Worcester
  • Sapient Corporation (headquarters)
  • Schneider Electric, in Andover, Massachusetts
  • , in Marlborough (headquarters)
  • , in Needham (headquarters)
  • Sonesta International Hotels Corp. (headquarters)
  • Staples, Inc., in Framingham (headquarters)
  • State Street Corporation (headquarters)
  • Steward Health Care System (headquarters)
  • Stop & Shop, in Quincy (headquarters)
  • SunSetter Products, LP, in Malden (headquarters)
  • , in North Reading (headquarters)
  • Thermo Fisher Scientific, in Waltham (headquarters)
  • (headquarters)
  • , in Framingham (headquarters)
  • Toast, Inc. (headquarters)
  • , in Needham (headquarters)
  • , in Cambridge
  • , in Wilmington (headquarters)
  • Vertex Pharmaceuticals (headquarters)
  • , in Lexington (North American headquarters)
  • (headquarters)
  • , in Brockton (headquarters)
  • Wellington Management Company (headquarters)
  • Wolverine World Wide, in Waltham, Massachusetts (headquarters for , , , and Stride Rite)
  • , in Grafton (complex metal components and products)
  • (headquarters)


Transportation

Interstates

U.S. Routes

State Highways

Bridges and tunnels
  • Boston University Bridge, carrying Route 2
  • , carrying Route 1A Northbound
  • Charles M. Braga Jr. Memorial Bridge, carrying Interstate 195
  • Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge, carrying Route 138
  • Fore River Bridge, carrying Massachusetts Route 3A
  • , carrying Route 2A
  • Longfellow Bridge, carrying Massachusetts Route 3, US Route 3, and the MBTA Red Line
  • William Felton "Bill" Russell Bridge, carrying Route 99
  • , carrying Route 1A Southbound
  • Ted Williams Tunnel, carrying I-90
  • Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnel, carrying I-93 and Routes 1 and 3 concurrently
  • , carrying Route 1
  • Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, carrying Interstate 93, Route 1 and Route 3 concurrently


Airports
  • Logan International Airport in Boston, northeast of downtown Boston, New England's largest transportation center
  • Manchester–Boston Regional Airport in Manchester, New Hampshire
  • T. F. Green Airport in Warwick, Rhode Island
  • in Bedford
  • Norwood Memorial Airport
  • Worcester Regional Airport
  • Beverly Regional Airport
  • Lawrence Municipal Airport


Rail and bus
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is the primary operator of transit in Greater Boston. It operates the system and the network in Boston and inner suburbs, as well as the MBTA Commuter Rail system and the network serving Greater Boston.

Other public transit includes intercity rail service, service to Logan International Airport, and privately-operated intercity bus and ferry systems. A number of regional transit authorities operate local bus service:

  • Brockton Area Transit Authority
  • Cape Ann Transportation Authority
  • Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority
  • Lowell Regional Transit Authority
  • Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority
  • MetroWest Regional Transit Authority
  • Montachusett Regional Transit Authority
  • Rhode Island Public Transit Authority
  • Worcester Regional Transit Authority


Ocean transportation
  • Port of Boston ()
  • Cape Cod Canal


Sports
National Hockey League (Boston)19246
7 Eastern Conference Titles
National Basketball Association (Boston)194618
23 Eastern Conference Titles
Boston Red SoxMajor League Baseball (Boston)19019 Championships
14 American League Pennants
New England PatriotsFootballNational Football League (Foxboro)19606 Championships
11 AFC Championships
New England RevolutionMajor League Soccer (Foxboro)19961 US Open Cup
1 Supporters' Shield
New England Free JacksMajor League RugbyVeterans Memorial Stadium (Quincy)20182 MLR Championships

Annual sporting events include:

  • The , which follows a course from Hopkinton to Boston
  • The Head of the Charles Regatta
  • The Lenox Industrial Tools 301, Sylvania 300 and New Hampshire Indy 225 auto races at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway oval track.

The Greater Boston League, a high school athletic conference in Massachusetts.


Notes

Further reading
  • (2025). 9781889833675, Commonwealth Editions.
    An informative guidebook, with facts and data about literary figures, publishers, bookstores, libraries, and other historic sites on the newly designated Literary Trail of Greater Boston.
  • (2025). 9780812217698, University of Pennsylvania Press.

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