Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston, the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts 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 Merrimack Valley and most of Southeastern Massachusetts, though most definitions (including the U.S. Census definition) include much of these areas and portions of southern New Hampshire.
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, Cape Cod 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 biotechnology, artificial intelligence, engineering, higher education, finance, and maritime trade.
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, Kennedy family, and the American Revolution.
Plymouth was the site of the first colony in New England, founded in 1620 by the Pilgrim Fathers, passengers of the Mayflower. In 1692, the town of Salem and surrounding areas experienced one of America's most infamous cases of mass hysteria, 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
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. Kendall Square in Cambridge has been called "the most innovative square mile on the planet", in reference to the high concentration of entrepreneurship startup company 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.
The cities and towns included in this definition are:
The NECTA definition includes all of the communities from the MAPC definition, as well as the Merrimack Valley communities, parts of southern New Hampshire (northward to Milford and Hampton, and the Taunton area.
The total population for the extended region was estimated at 8,466,186 at the 2020 census.
The City of Boston also has one of the largest LGBT populations per capita. It ranks fifth of all major cities in the country (behind San Francisco, and slightly behind Seattle, Atlanta, and Minneapolis), 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:
1 | Dorchester | 916 | 3,138 | 12 | 32 | 15 | 26 | 14 |
2 | Pawtucket | 161 | 4,607 | 28 | 24 | 28 | 1 | 18 |
3 | Pawtucket | 151 | 4,472 | 24 | 24 | 29 | 1 | 23 |
4 | Pawtucket | 164 | 4,938 | 29 | 26 | 21 | 2 | 20 |
5 | Dorchester | 912 | 3,234 | 30 | 24 | 22 | 6 | 18 |
6 | Dorchester | 92101 | 6,451 | 30 | 22 | 11 | 31 | 6 |
7 | Brockton | 5115 | 4,308 | 21 | 32 | 13 | 2 | 32 |
8 | Brockton | 511 | 3,040 | 28 | 33 | 15 | 1 | 24 |
9 | New Bedford | 6519 | 1,942 | 26 | 11 | 33 | 1 | 29 |
10 | Mission Hill | 80801 | 3,885 | 32 | 20 | 35 | 10 | 2 |
11 | Pawtucket | 154 | 2,258 | 35 | 20 | 35 | 0 | 11 |
12 | Brockton | 5114 | 3,716 | 24 | 36 | 14 | 2 | 23 |
13 | Brockton | 5109 | 2,531 | 24 | 36 | 16 | 1 | 24 |
14 | Brockton | 5103 | 3,798 | 23 | 38 | 15 | 2 | 24 |
15 | Brockton | 5104 | 3,706 | 19 | 38 | 15 | 2 | 25 |
16 | Dorchester | 90901 | 3,730 | 38 | 18 | 21 | 20 | 4 |
17 | Worcester | 733 | 3,762 | 38 | 10 | 37 | 12 | 4 |
18 | Providence | 26 | 3,098 | 23 | 22 | 39 | 10 | 6 |
19 | Malden | 3415 | 4,780 | 39 | 23 | 14 | 19 | 5 |
20 | Cambridge | 3524 | 2,126 | 27 | 39 | 16 | 12 | 5 |
21 | South End | 71202 | 3,131 | 39 | 19 | 24 | 15 | 3 |
22 | Brockton | 511301 | 5,334 | 39 | 31 | 11 | 2 | 17 |
23 | Providence | 15 | 2,994 | 28 | 13 | 41 | 14 | 4 |
24 | South Boston | 61 | 3,098 | 41 | 15 | 29 | 11 | 4 |
25 | Lynn | 2072 | 2,939 | 30 | 12 | 42 | 13 | 2 |
26 | Cambridge | 3549 | 6,058 | 35 | 30 | 9 | 20 | 5 |
27 | South Boston | 61101 | 2,232 | 20 | 21 | 42 | 14 | 2 |
28 | Brockton | 5116 | 7,211 | 42 | 29 | 10 | 2 | 16 |
29 | Roxbury | 801 | 3,350 | 15 | 43 | 28 | 1 | 11 |
30 | Lowell | 3114 | 5,986 | 44 | 11 | 14 | 26 | 5 |
31 | Brockton | 5108 | 6,339 | 18 | 44 | 12 | 2 | 22 |
32 | Mission Hill | 81001 | 4,890 | 45 | 14 | 19 | 19 | 2 |
33 | Malden | 3418 | 6,554 | 46 | 20 | 13 | 16 | 5 |
34 | South Boston | 607 | 1,893 | 19 | 20 | 46 | 10 | 5 |
35 | Brockton | 5107 | 5,656 | 46 | 31 | 8 | 4 | 11 |
36 | Brockton | 5112 | 4,849 | 47 | 26 | 11 | 1 | 13 |
37 | Somerville | 351404 | 4,289 | 47 | 7 | 22 | 13 | 11 |
38 | Lynn | 2071 | 3,513 | 18 | 11 | 48 | 19 | 3 |
39 | Framingham | 383101 | 4,923 | 23 | 10 | 48 | 1 | 18 |
40 | Mission Hill | 811 | 4,091 | 48 | 21 | 15 | 13 | 2 |
The 40 census tracts in the Boston CSA with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Hispanic or Latino:
1 | Lawrence | 2525 | 3,810 | 94 |
2 | Lawrence | 2509 | 2,193 | 93 |
3 | Lawrence | 2504 | 3,858 | 90 |
4 | Lawrence | 2503 | 2,101 | 89 |
5 | Lawrence | 2513 | 3,721 | 89 |
6 | Lawrence | 2512 | 1,356 | 86 |
7 | Lawrence | 2507 | 4,756 | 86 |
8 | Lawrence | 251 | 1,782 | 85 |
9 | Chelsea | 1602 | 4,043 | 83 |
10 | Lawrence | 2506 | 5,599 | 83 |
11 | Lawrence | 2514 | 5,053 | 77 |
12 | Chelsea | 160101 | 7,551 | 76 |
13 | Lawrence | 2501 | 2,329 | 75 |
14 | Lawrence | 2516 | 5,977 | 74 |
15 | Lawrence | 2511 | 2,937 | 73 |
16 | Lawrence | 2502 | 5,524 | 72 |
17 | Chelsea | 1604 | 2,716 | 71 |
18 | Chelsea | 160501 | 5,604 | 71 |
19 | Providence | 16 | 8,540 | 70 |
20 | Lawrence | 2515 | 6,149 | 70 |
21 | Worcester | 732001 | 3,327 | 67 |
22 | East Boston | 506 | 2,063 | 67 |
23 | East Boston | 502 | 5,231 | 66 |
24 | East Boston | 507 | 4,504 | 65 |
25 | East Boston | 50901 | 4,165 | 65 |
26 | Providence | 2 | 6,452 | 64 |
27 | Providence | 4 | 3,761 | 64 |
28 | Providence | 14 | 6,693 | 63 |
29 | Providence | 5 | 3,040 | 63 |
30 | Central Falls | 11 | 5,534 | 63 |
31 | Lawrence | 2508 | 6,932 | 63 |
32 | Chelsea | 160502 | 4,460 | 62 |
33 | Methuen | 2524 | 4,175 | 62 |
34 | Providence | 17 | 3,744 | 62 |
35 | Providence | 18 | 7,114 | 61 |
36 | Central Falls | 111 | 4,176 | 61 |
37 | East Boston | 50101 | 5,115 | 61 |
38 | Lawrence | 2517 | 5,145 | 61 |
39 | Providence | 3 | 7,714 | 60 |
40 | Central Falls | 108 | 4,763 | 59 |
Census tracts in the Boston CSA with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Black American:
1 | Mattapan | 101101 | 3,115 | 84 |
2 | Mattapan | 101102 | 4,396 | 84 |
3 | Mattapan | 101001 | 5,480 | 83 |
4 | Mattapan | 1003 | 3,303 | 80 |
5 | Mattapan | 1002 | 2,787 | 78 |
6 | Mattapan | 101002 | 4,979 | 77 |
7 | Dorchester | 923 | 2,893 | 77 |
8 | Roxbury | 82 | 2,815 | 74 |
9 | Roxbury | 817 | 3,820 | 71 |
10 | Hyde Park | 1404 | 7,650 | 71 |
11 | Roxbury | 901 | 4,571 | 71 |
12 | Dorchester | 919 | 3,860 | 70 |
13 | Dorchester | 1004 | 4,865 | 68 |
14 | Roxbury | 819 | 3,115 | 66 |
15 | Roxbury | 924 | 5,277 | 66 |
16 | Roxbury | 818 | 2,898 | 65 |
17 | Mattapan | 1001 | 5,510 | 64 |
18 | Roxbury | 815 | 2,134 | 62 |
19 | Roxbury | 821 | 5,025 | 62 |
20 | Roxbury | 803 | 1,769 | 60 |
21 | Roxbury | 903 | 3,179 | 58 |
22 | Dorchester | 1009 | 4,072 | 58 |
23 | Dorchester | 1005 | 5,909 | 55 |
24 | Hyde Park | 1403 | 6,382 | 54 |
25 | Dorchester | 92 | 4,945 | 54 |
26 | Roxbury | 902 | 2,233 | 53 |
27 | Dorchester | 918 | 3,452 | 52 |
28 | Roxbury | 904 | 3,659 | 52 |
29 | Roxbury | 814 | 3,003 | 50 |
30 | Roxbury | 80401 | 2,710 | 50 |
31 | Roslindale | 140106 | 1,901 | 49 |
32 | Dorchester | 917 | 3,069 | 47 |
33 | Dorchester | 914 | 2,741 | 46 |
34 | Brockton | 5108 | 6,339 | 44 |
35 | Roxbury | 805 | 3,096 | 44 |
36 | Roxbury | 801 | 3,350 | 43 |
37 | Randolph | 420302 | 7,703 | 42 |
38 | Roxbury | 813 | 4,760 | 42 |
39 | Dorchester | 922 | 3,349 | 42 |
40 | Randolph | 420202 | 6,303 | 40 |
Census tracts in the Boston CSA with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Asian American:
1 | South End | 70402 | 1,723 | 70 |
2 | Chinatown | 702 | 5,218 | 58 |
3 | Lowell | 3112 | 3,267 | 55 |
4 | Lowell | 3118 | 3,513 | 54 |
5 | Lowell | 3117 | 5,098 | 47 |
6 | Quincy | 417502 | 4,639 | 45 |
7 | Quincy | 4172 | 8,182 | 44 |
8 | Malden | 3413 | 5,439 | 39 |
9 | Lowell | 3113 | 4,057 | 38 |
10 | Westborough | 742402 | 3,026 | 38 |
11 | Quincy | 417501 | 5,004 | 37 |
12 | Cambridge | 353102 | 5,040 | 36 |
13 | Quincy | 417802 | 3,150 | 35 |
14 | Lowell | 3111 | 2,410 | 34 |
15 | Lowell | 3115 | 2,974 | 33 |
16 | Dorchester | 92101 | 6,451 | 31 |
17 | Quincy | 417601 | 5,196 | 30 |
18 | Fenway–Kenmore | 10103 | 4,569 | 29 |
19 | Quincy | 4180002 | 7,020 | 28 |
20 | Quincy | 417602 | 5,155 | 28 |
21 | Chinatown/Leather District/Downtown | 70101 | 5,902 | 27 |
22 | Cambridge | 3539 | 7,090 | 27 |
23 | Lowell | 3114 | 5,986 | 26 |
24 | Lowell | 3116 | 5,295 | 26 |
25 | Lowell | 3107 | 4,441 | 26 |
26 | Quincy | 4171 | 4,264 | 26 |
27 | Dorchester | 916 | 3,138 | 26 |
28 | Malden | 3412 | 6,857 | 25 |
29 | Malden | 341102 | 4,564 | 25 |
30 | Malden | 341101 | 3,675 | 25 |
31 | Acton | 363102 | 5,909 | 25 |
32 | Dorchester | 911 | 4,861 | 25 |
33 | Allston-Brighton | 703 | 2,791 | 24 |
34 | Lexington | 3583 | 5,526 | 24 |
35 | Quincy | 418004 | 4,280 | 23 |
36 | Brookline | 4009 | 3,865 | 22 |
37 | Cambridge | 3532 | 4,897 | 22 |
38 | Cambridge | 352101 | 1,654 | 22 |
39 | Shrewsbury | 7391 | 9,557 | 22 |
40 | Westborough | 7612 | 5,780 | 22 |
Census tracts in the Boston CSA with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Irish American:
South Boston | 60101 | 3,106 | 68 |
Milton | 416400 | 6,069 | 63 |
Charlestown | 040401 | 2,439 | 63 |
Dorchester | 1007 | 4,322 | 63 |
South Boston | 608 | 3,964 | 62 |
South Boston | 604 | 4,904 | 61 |
Milton | 416101 | 5,724 | 58 |
Marshfield | 506204 | 4,886 | 57 |
Weymouth | 422100 | 5,293 | 57 |
Quincy | 417801 | 5,443 | 55 |
Hull | 500101 | 3,702 | 55 |
Scituate | 505101 | 3,860 | 55 |
West Roxbury | 130402 | 4,637 | 54 |
Quincy | 417400 | 2,566 | 53 |
South Boston | 60301 | 3,076 | 52 |
Abington | 520100 | 6,458 | 52 |
Braintree | 419200 | 5,002 | 52 |
Braintree | 419600 | 6,766 | 52 |
Abington | 520201 | 3,952 | 52 |
Pembroke | 508200 | 6,031 | 52 |
Census tracts in the Boston CSA with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Italian American:
Johnston | 012402 | 2,486 | 63 |
Cranston | 014501 | 5,179 | 58 |
Johnston | 012500 | 5,490 | 57 |
Johnston | 012200 | 7,187 | 57 |
Providence | 011902 | 4,780 | 55 |
Cranston | 014800 | 5,591 | 55 |
Saugus | 208102 | 3,343 | 51 |
Cranston | 014300 | 4,716 | 49 |
Cranston | 014600 | 6,991 | 49 |
Cranston | 014502 | 4,096 | 48 |
Johnston | 012300 | 6,656 | 48 |
Johnston | 012401 | 6,950 | 48 |
Stoneham | 337102 | 5,042 | 45 |
Stoneham | 337202 | 4,849 | 45 |
Revere | 170200 | 4,564 | 45 |
Revere | 170502 | 2,818 | 43 |
Cranston | 013900 | 2,992 | 43 |
Revere | 170300 | 9,040 | 43 |
North Providence | 012103 | 2,965 | 43 |
Census tracts in the Boston CSA with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Portuguese American:
New Bedford | 652800 | 3,277 | 72 |
Fall River | 640600 | 4,450 | 69 |
Dartmouth | 653203 | 5,005 | 65 |
New Bedford | 652400 | 2,664 | 64 |
New Bedford | 652000 | 2,676 | 62 |
Fall River | 640500 | 5,165 | 60 |
Fall River | 641200 | 2,803 | 59 |
New Bedford | 650500 | 3,141 | 58 |
Fall River | 640901 | 5,071 | 58 |
New Bedford | 650400 | 3,773 | 57 |
New Bedford | 652500 | 2,589 | 56 |
East Providence | 010400 | 6,661 | 55 |
New Bedford | 652300 | 2,870 | 54 |
Fall River | 641000 | 2,419 | 54 |
Fall River | 640300 | 3,693 | 53 |
Westport | 646101 | 7,356 | 53 |
Fall River | 640700 | 2,900 | 53 |
Fall River | 640400 | 2,682 | 53 |
New Bedford | 650101 | 5,753 | 53 |
Fall River | 640100 | 5,358 | 52 |
Census tracts in the Boston CSA with French or French Canadian listed as first ancestry:
Woonsocket | 018500 | 2,831 | 66 |
Woonsocket | 017700 | 3,518 | 61 |
Woonsocket | 017500 | 3,128 | 59 |
Woonsocket | 017800 | 2,514 | 58 |
Burrillville | 013001 | 3,479 | 56 |
North Smithfield | 012802 | 2,391 | 54 |
North Smithfield | 012803 | 4,776 | 53 |
Burrillville | 013002 | 7,539 | 53 |
North Smithfield | 012801 | 4,800 | 52 |
Manchester | 002300 | 3,758 | 52 |
Woonsocket | 017900 | 3,049 | 51 |
Burrillville | 012900 | 4,937 | 50 |
Manchester | 000202 | 2,297 | 49 |
Manchester | 002100 | 4,782 | 49 |
Woonsocket | 017600 | 2,560 | 49 |
Manchester | 002600 | 5,746 | 48 |
Manchester | 002200 | 3,232 | 47 |
Woonsocket | 018400 | 6,527 | 47 |
Blackstone | 747101 | 5,110 | 47 |
Woonsocket | 018000 | 2,680 | 46 |
State capital |
State largest city |
1. | Boston | ||
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 |
Other public transit includes Amtrak intercity rail service, Logan Express service to Logan International Airport, and privately-operated intercity bus and ferry systems. A number of regional transit authorities operate local bus service:
Boston Bruins | Ice hockey | National Hockey League | TD Garden (Boston) | 1924 | 6 Stanley Cups 7 Eastern Conference Titles |
Boston Celtics | Basketball | National Basketball Association | TD Garden (Boston) | 1946 | 18 NBA Finals 23 Eastern Conference Titles |
Boston Red Sox | Baseball | Major League Baseball | Fenway Park (Boston) | 1901 | 9 MLB World Series Championships 14 American League Pennants |
New England Patriots | Football | National Football League | Gillette Stadium (Foxboro) | 1960 | 6 Super Bowl Championships 11 AFC Championships |
New England Revolution | Soccer | Major League Soccer | Gillette Stadium (Foxboro) | 1996 | 1 US Open Cup 1 Supporters' Shield |
New England Free Jacks | Rugby union | Major League Rugby | Veterans Memorial Stadium (Quincy) | 2018 | 2 MLR Championships |
Annual sporting events include:
The Greater Boston League, a high school athletic conference in Massachusetts.
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