Greater Boston facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Boston Combined Statistical Area Boston–Worcester–Providence
Metropolitan area
Boston
Country	United States
State(s)	Massachusetts (MA) Rhode Island (RI) New Hampshire (NH) Connecticut (CT)
Principal cities	Boston Worcester Providence Lowell Cambridge Quincy Manchester Concord
Population (2020)
• Total	8,466,186 (CSA) 4,941,632 (MSA)
• Rank	Ranked 6th in the US for Combined Statistical Areas Ranked 10th in the US for Metropolitan Statistical Areas
Time zone	EST
Area code(s)	617, 781, 857, 339, 978, 508, 351, 774, 603, 401

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. The region forms the northern arc of the Northeast megalopolis, so Greater Boston means both a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and a combined statistical area (CSA), which is broader. The MSA consists of most of the eastern third of Massachusetts, excluding the South Coast and Cape Cod; the CSA additionally includes the municipalities of Providence (capital of Rhode Island), Manchester (the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire), Worcester (the second largest city in Massachusetts and in New England), the South Coast region, and Cape Cod. While the city of Boston covers 48.4 square miles (125 km²) and has 675,647 residents as of the 2020 census, the urbanization has extended well into surrounding areas and the CSA has a more than 8.4 million people, making it one of the most populous such regions in the U.S. The CSA is one of two in Massachusetts, the other being Greater Springfield. Greater Boston is the only CSA in New England that lies in three states (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island); some definitions extend it into a fourth (Connecticut).

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, engineering, higher education, finance, and maritime trade.

As of 2020, 64% of Massachusetts' population lives in the Greater Boston metropolitan region, and 88% of Massachusetts' population lives in the Boston Combined Statistical Area. 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, politics, and the American Revolution.

Plymouth was the site of the first colony in New England, founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims, 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 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 Adams and Kennedy families.

Harvard University in Cambridge is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, 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 entrepreneurial start-ups 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.

Definitions

Light Blue represents the area in Massachusetts known as Greater Boston, while Dark Blue represents the Metro-Boston area, and Red represents the City of Boston.

Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC)

The most restrictive definition of the Greater Boston area is the region administered by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC). 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. The population of the MAPC district is 5,414,140 (as of 2010), which is 68% of the total population of Massachusetts, in an area of 1,422 square miles (3,680 km²), of which 39% is forested and an additional 11% is water, wetland, or other open space.

The eight subregions and their principal towns are: Inner Core (Boston), Minuteman (Route 2 corridor), MetroWest (Framingham), North Shore (Lynn), North Suburban (Woburn), South Shore (Route 3 corridor), SouthWest (Franklin), and Three Rivers (Norwood).

Notably excluded from the MAPC and its partner planning body, the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization, are the Merrimack Valley cities of Lowell, Lawrence, and Haverhill, much of Plymouth County, and all of Bristol County; these areas have their own regional planning bodies. Northern Bristol County is part of the Greater Boston CSA, as part of the Providence MSA.

New England City and Town Area (NECTA)

Cambridge and Boston; MIT and Kendall Square in the foreground, and Boston's Financial District in the background

The urbanized area surrounding Boston serves as the core of a definition used by the US Census Bureau known as the New England city and town area (NECTA). The set of towns containing the core urbanized area plus surrounding towns with strong social and economic ties to the core area is defined as the Boston–Cambridge–Nashua, MA–NH Metropolitan NECTA. The Boston NECTA is further subdivided into several NECTA divisions, which are listed below. The Boston, Framingham, and Peabody NECTA divisions together correspond roughly to the MAPC area. The total population of the Boston NECTA was 4,540,941 (as of 2000).

Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA NECTA Division (92 towns)
Framingham, MA NECTA Division (12 towns)
Peabody–Salem–Beverly, MA NECTA Division (4 towns)
Brockton–Bridgewater–Easton, MA NECTA Division (Old Colony region) (8 towns)
Haverhill–Newburyport–Amesbury, MA–NH NECTA Division (Merrimack Valley region) (21 towns)
Lawrence–Methuen–Salem, MA–NH NECTA Division (part of Merrimack Valley region) (4 towns)
Lowell–Billerica–Chelmsford, MA–NH NECTA Division (Northern Middlesex region) (15 towns)
Nashua, NH–MA NECTA Division (21 towns)
Taunton–Middleborough–Norton, MA NECTA Division (part of Southeastern region) (9 towns)
Lynn–Saugus–Marblehead, MA NECTA Division (5 towns)

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1850	650,357	—
1860	830,998	27.8%
1870	978,346	17.7%
1880	1,205,439	23.2%
1890	1,515,684	25.7%
1900	1,890,122	24.7%
1910	2,260,762	19.6%
1920	2,563,123	13.4%
1930	2,866,567	11.8%
1940	2,926,650	2.1%
1950	3,186,970	8.9%
1960	3,516,435	10.3%
1970	3,918,092	11.4%
1980	3,938,585	0.5%
1990	4,133,895	5.0%
2000	4,391,344	6.2%
2010	4,552,402	3.7%
2014 (est.)	4,732,161	3.9%
US Decennial Census

An alternative definition defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget, using counties as building blocks instead of towns, is the Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA–NH Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is further subdivided into four metropolitan divisions. The metropolitan statistical area had a total population of approximately 4,732,161 as of 2014 and is the tenth-largest in the United States. The components of the metropolitan area with their estimated 2012 populations are listed below.

Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA–NH Metropolitan Statistical Area (4,640,802)
- Boston, MA Metropolitan Division (1,926,030)
  - Norfolk County, Massachusetts (681,845)
  - Plymouth County, Massachusetts (499,759)
  - Suffolk County, Massachusetts (744,426)
- Cambridge–Newton–Framingham, MA Metropolitan Division (2,292,833)
  - Middlesex County, Massachusetts (1,537,215)
  - Essex County, Massachusetts (755,618)
- Rockingham County–Strafford County, NH Metropolitan Division (421,939)
  - Rockingham County, New Hampshire (297,820)
  - Strafford County, New Hampshire (124,119)

Combined Statistical Area (CSA)

Providence, Rhode Island

A wider functional metropolitan area based on commuting patterns is also defined by the Office of Management and Budget as the Boston–Worcester–Providence combined statistical area. This area consists of the metropolitan areas of Manchester, Worcester, Providence, as well as Cape Cod, in addition to greater Boston. The total population as of 2014 for the extended region was estimated at 8,099,575. The following areas, along with the above MSA, are included in the combined statistical area, with their estimated 2012 populations:

Worcester, MA–CT, metropolitan statistical area (923,762)
- Worcester County, Massachusetts (806,163)
- Windham County, Connecticut (117,599)
Providence–Warwick, RI–MA, metropolitan statistical area (1,601,374)
- Bristol County, Massachusetts (551,082)
- Bristol County, Rhode Island (49,144)
- Kent County, Rhode Island (164,843)
- Newport County, Rhode Island (82,036)
- Providence County, Rhode Island (628,323)
- Washington County, Rhode Island (125,946)
Concord, NH, micropolitan statistical area (146,761)
- Merrimack County, New Hampshire (146,761)
Laconia, NH, micropolitan statistical area (60,327)
- Belknap County, New Hampshire (60,327)
Manchester–Nashua, NH, metropolitan statistical area (402,922)
- Hillsborough County, New Hampshire (402,922)
Barnstable Town, MA, metropolitan statistical area (215,423)
- Barnstable County, Massachusetts (215,423)

Principal cities and towns

Winthrop, MA

Cities and towns

Boston metropolitan area

The Census Bureau defines the following as principal cities in the Boston NECTA using criteria developed for what the Office of Management and Budget calls a Core Based Statistical Area:

Largest cities and towns

Cities and towns in the Boston CSA with at least 50,000 residents:

Rank	City	2000 population	2010 population	2014 population	% change (2010 to 2014)
1	Boston	589,141	617,594	655,884	&10000000000000006199865+6.20%
2	Worcester	172,648	181,045	183,016	&10000000000000001088679+1.09%
3	Providence	173,618	178,042	179,154	&10000000000000000624571+0.62%
4	Manchester	107,006	109,565	110,448	&10000000000000000805914+0.81%
5	Lowell	105,167	106,519	109,945	&10000000000000003216327+3.22%
6	Cambridge	101,355	105,162	109,694	&10000000000000004309541+4.31%
7	New Bedford	93,768	95,072	94,845	Template:Number table sorting/negative−0.24%
8	Brockton	94,304	93,810	94,779	&10000000000000001032938+1.03%
9	Quincy	88,025	92,271	93,397	&10000000000000001220318+1.22%
10	Lynn	89,050	90,329	92,137	&10000000000000002001572+2.00%
11	Fall River	91,938	88,857	88,712	Template:Number table sorting/negative−0.16%
12	Newton	83,829	85,146	88,287	&10000000000000003688957+3.69%
13	Nashua	86,605	86,494	87,259	&10000000000000000884454+0.88%
14	Warwick	85,808	82,672	81,963	Template:Number table sorting/negative−0.86%
15	Cranston	79,269	80,387	81,037	&10000000000000000808588+0.81%
16	Somerville	77,478	75,754	78,901	&10000000000000004154236+4.15%
17	Lawrence	72,043	76,377	78,197	&10000000000000002382916+2.38%
18	Pawtucket	72,958	71,148	71,499	&10000000000000000493337+0.49%
19	Framingham	66,910	68,318	70,068	&10000000000000002561550+2.56%
20	Waltham	59,226	60,632	63,014	&10000000000000003928618+3.93%
21	Haverhill	58,969	60,879	62,488	&10000000000000002642947+2.64%
22	Malden	56,340	59,450	60,859	&10000000000000002370058+2.37%
23	Brookline	57,107	58,732	59,115	&10000000000000000652114+0.65%
24	Plymouth	51,701	56,468	57,463	&10000000000000001762059+1.76%
25	Medford	55,765	56,173	57,437	&10000000000000002250191+2.25%
26	Taunton	55,976	55,874	56,544	&10000000000000001199126+1.20%
27	Weymouth	53,988	53,743	55,643	&10000000000000003535344+3.54%
28	Revere	47,283	51,755	54,157	&10000000000000004641097+4.64%
29	Peabody	48,129	51,251	52,376	&10000000000000002195079+2.20%
30	Methuen	43,789	47,255	52,044	&10000000000000010134377+10.13%

Demographics

St. Patrick's Day Parade in Scituate, Massachusetts, in Plymouth County, the municipality with the highest percentage identifying Irish ancestry in the United States, at 47.5% in 2010. Irish Americans constitute the largest ethnicity in Greater Boston.

Boston's Chinatown, with its paifang gate, is home to many Chinese and also Vietnamese restaurants.

Boston gay pride march, held annually in June

Population density

The most densely populated census tracts in the Boston CSA (2010):

Rank	City or neighborhood	Census tract	Population	Population density
Rank	City or neighborhood	Census tract	Population	/sq mi	/km²
1	Fenway–Kenmore	10404	5,817	110,108	285,180
2	Fenway–Kenmore	10403	3,003	87,828	227,470
3	Fenway–Kenmore	10408	1,426	85,137	220,500
4	Beacon Hill	202	3,649	80,851	209,400
5	North End	301	1,954	66,288	171,690
6	North End	302	1,665	64,642	167,420
7	North End	304	2,451	58,435	151,350
8	Cambridge	3539	7,090	56,819	147,160
9	Back Bay	10801	2,783	56,534	146,420
10	East Boston	502	5,231	55,692	144,240

Race and ethnicity

The 40 most diverse Census tracts in the Boston CSA:

Rank	City or neighborhood	Census tract	Population	% White	% Black	% Hispanic	% Asian	% multiracial or other
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:

Rank	City or Neighborhood	Census Tract	Population	% 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:

Rank	City or Neighborhood	Census Tract	Population	% Black
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:

Rank	City or Neighborhood	Census Tract	Population	% Asian
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:

City or Neighborhood	Census Tract	Population	% Irish
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:

City or Neighborhood	Census Tract	Population	% Italian
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:

City or Neighborhood	Census Tract	Population	% Portuguese
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:

City or Neighborhood	Census Tract	Population	% French
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

Other

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 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 respectively), with 12.3% of the city identifying as gay, lesbian, or bisexual.

County	2016 Estimate	2010 Census	Change	Area	Density
Essex County, Massachusetts	779,018	743,159	&10000000000000004825212+4.83%	492.56 sq mi (1,275.7 km²)	1,582/sq mi (611/km²)
Middlesex County, Massachusetts	1,589,774	1,503,085	&10000000000000005767405+5.77%	817.82 sq mi (2,118.1 km²)	1,944/sq mi (751/km²)
Norfolk County, Massachusetts	697,181	670,850	&10000000000000003925020+3.93%	396.11 sq mi (1,025.9 km²)	1,760/sq mi (680/km²)
Plymouth County, Massachusetts	513,565	494,919	&10000000000000003767485+3.77%	659.07 sq mi (1,707.0 km²)	779/sq mi (301/km²)
Suffolk County, Massachusetts	784,230	722,023	&10000000000000008615653+8.62%	58.15 sq mi (150.6 km²)	13,486/sq mi (5,207/km²)
Rockingham County, New Hampshire	303,251	295,223	&10000000000000002719300+2.72%	694.72 sq mi (1,799.3 km²)	437/sq mi (169/km²)
Strafford County, New Hampshire	127,428	123,143	&10000000000000003479694+3.48%	368.97 sq mi (955.6 km²)	345/sq mi (133/km²)
Total	4,794,447	4,552,402	&10000000000000005316863+5.32%	3,487.40 sq mi (9,032.3 km²)	1,375/sq mi (531/km²)

Major companies

References:

Companies along, inside or outside I-495:
- Abbott Laboratories, in Worcester (pharmaceutical laboratory)
- Advanced Cell Technology, in Worcester (research laboratory)
- AMD, in Boxborough
- Analog Devices, in Norwood
- Atlantic Broadband, in Quincy
- Atlantic Tele-Network, in Beverly
- Avid Technology, Inc, in Burlington (headquarters)
- Azimuth Systems, in Acton
- Bain & Company, in Boston (headquarters)
- Bain Capital, in Boston (headquarters)
- Bertucci's Corporation, in Northborough (headquarters)
- BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc., in Westborough (headquarters)
- Bose Corporation, in Framingham (headquarters)
- Boston Properties, Inc., in Boston (headquarters)
- Boston Scientific Corporation, in Marlborough
- Boston Scientific Corporation, in Natick (headquarters)
- Charles River Laboratories, in Wilmington (headquarters)
- Cisco Systems, in Boxborough
- Converse, in North Andover (headquarters)
- CommunityRoot, in Boston (headquarters)
- David Clark Company, in Worcester (manufacturer of space suits)
- Diebold, in Marlborough (regional headquarters)
- EMC Corporation, in Hopkinton (headquarters)
- Evergreen Solar, in Marlborough (headquarters)
- Genzyme Corporation, in Framingham
- Hewlett-Packard, in Marlborough

(regional headquarters)

- Schneider Electric, in Andover, Massachusetts
- HourlyNerd, in Boston
- Innerscope Research, in Boston (headquarters)
- Intel Corporation, in Hudson
- Kronos Incorporated, in Chelmsford, Massachusetts (headquarters)
- Marshalls, Inc, in Framingham (headquarters)
- The MathWorks, in Natick
- MITRE Corporation, in Bedford (headquarters)
- Morgan Construction Company, in Worcester (rolling steel mill technology)
- National Amusements, in Norwood (headquarters)

- Novartis, headquartered in Cambridge, with locations worldwide (a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel)
- Philips Electronics North America, in Andover (regional headquarters)
- Philips Healthcare, in Andover (global headquarters) and Framingham
- Red Hat, in Westford (engineering headquarters)
- Reed & Barton in Taunton (factory and headquarters)
- Saint-Gobain, in Worcester
- Sepracor, Inc., in Marlborough (headquarters)
- Staples, Inc., in Framingham (headquarters)
- Stop & Shop, in Quincy (headquarters)
- TJX Corporation, in Framingham (headquarters)
- Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., in Boston (headquarters)
- UniFirst, in Wilmington (headquarters)
- WB Mason, in Brockton (headquarters)
- Wyman-Gordon, in Grafton (complex metal components and products)
Companies along or inside I-95 (Route 128), not including Boston:
- Akamai Technologies, in Cambridge (headquarters)
- AstraZeneca, in Waltham (R&D)
- BBN Technologies, in Cambridge (headquarters)
- Biocell Center, in Medford (North American headquarters)
- Biogen Idec, in Weston (North American headquarters)
- Carl Zeiss SMT, in Peabody (North American headquarters)
- Constant Contact, in Walthem
- Dunkin' Brands, in Canton (headquarters)
- Facebook, in Cambridge
- General Electric Aviation, in Lynn
- Genzyme Corporation, in Cambridge (headquarters)
- Genzyme Corporation, in Waltham (R&D)
- Google Inc., in Cambridge
- Haemonetics, in Braintree
- IBM, in Waltham, Cambridge and Littleton
- InterSystems Corporation, in Cambridge (headquarters)
- iRobot Corporation, in Burlington (headquarters)
- Keurig, in Reading (headquarters)
- Meditech, in Westwood (headquarters)
- Microsoft Corporation, in Cambridge
- Millennium Pharmaceuticals, in Cambridge
- National Amusements (Parent company of CBS and Viacom), in Dedham (headquarters)
- National Grid, in Waltham (US headquarters)
- NetApp Inc, in Waltham
- NetBlazr, in Watertown
- Nokia, in Burlington
- Novartis AG, Inc, in Cambridge (research headquarters)
- Novell, Inc., in Waltham
- Nuance Communications, in Burlington
- Oracle Corporation in Burlington
- Osram Sylvania in Danvers (headquarters)
- Parametric Technology Corporation in Needham (headquarters)
- Philips Lighting in Burlington
- Progress Software in Bedford (headquarters)
- Raytheon, in Waltham (headquarters)
- Reebok, in Canton (US headquarters)
- SunSetter Products, LP, in Malden (headquarters)
- Teradyne, in North Reading (headquarters)
- Thermo Fisher Scientific, in Waltham (headquarters)
- TripAdvisor, LLC, in Needham (headquarters)
- Twitter, in Cambridge
- Vistaprint, in Lexington (North American headquarters)
Major companies inside Boston proper:
- American Tower (headquarters)
- Au Bon Pain (headquarters)
- Bain & Company (headquarters)
- Bentley Motors (US headquarters)
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (headquarters)
- Boston Consulting Group (headquarters)
- Fidelity Investments (headquarters)
- The Gillette Company, now owned by Procter & Gamble (headquarters)
- Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (headquarters)
- John Hancock Financial Services, Inc, now the United States division of Canada's Manulife Financial
- Liberty Mutual (headquarters)
- LogMeIn (headquarters)
- LPL Financial (headquarters)
- New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. (headquarters)
- Putnam Investments (headquarters)
- Sapient Corporation (headquarters)
- Sonesta International Hotels Corp. (headquarters)
- State Street Corporation (headquarters)
- Steward Health Care System (headquarters)
- Toast, Inc. (headquarters)
- Vertex Pharmaceuticals (headquarters)
- Wayfair (headquarters)
- Wellington Management Company (headquarters)
- Zipcar (headquarters)

Transportation

Interstates

I‑90
I‑93
I‑95
I‑190
I‑195
I‑290
I-293
I-295
I-395
I‑495

U.S. Routes

US 1
US 3
US 6
US 20
US 44

State Highways

Route 1A
Route 2
Route 2A
Route 3
Route 3A
Route 4
Route 9
Route 16
Route 18
Route 24
Route 25
Route 27
Route 28
Route 30
Route 38
Route 53
Route 58
Route 60
Route 62
Route 97
Route 106
Route 109
Route 110
Route 113
Route 114
Route 115
Route 117
Route 122
Route 123
Route 125
Route 126
Route 128
Route 129
Route 133
Route 135
Route 138
Route 139
Route 140
Route 146
Route 213
Route 225

Bridges and tunnels

Boston University Bridge, carrying Route 2
Callahan Tunnel, 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
Harvard Bridge, carrying Route 2A
Longfellow Bridge, carrying Massachusetts Route 3, US Route 3, and the MBTA Red Line
North Washington Street Bridge, carrying Route 99
Sumner Tunnel, 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
Tobin Bridge, carrying Route 1
Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, carrying Interstate 93, Route 1 and Route 3 concurrently

Airports

Logan International Airport in Boston, 3 miles (4.8 km) 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
Hanscom Field in Bedford
Norwood Memorial Airport
Worcester Regional Airport
Beverly Regional Airport
Lawrence Municipal Airport

Rail and bus

The MBTA district, with Commuter Rail lines in purple

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA, generally known as the "T") rapid transit lines:
- Red Line heavy rail: Cambridge–Braintree and Boston (Mattapan)
- Orange Line heavy rail: Boston (Jamaica Plain)–Malden
- Blue Line heavy rail: Boston–Revere
- Green Line light rail/streetcar: Cambridge–Brookline and Newton
- Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line streetcar: Ashmont–Milton–Mattapan
- Silver Line bus rapid transit South Station–Logan Airport and Downtown–[[{{{station}}} (MBTA station)|{{{station}}}]]
MBTA Commuter Rail
- Old Colony Lines serving Plymouth County
- Providence/Stoughton Line serving northern Bristol County, western Norfolk County, Kent County, and Washington County, connecting to Providence, Rhode Island
- Fairmount Line shuttle service from South Station
- Franklin Line serving western Norfolk County
- Greenbush Line serving Boston's South Shore
- Needham Line serving Boston suburbs and Needham
- Framingham/Worcester Line serving southwestern Middlesex County, connecting to Worcester
- Fitchburg Line serving northwestern Middlesex County, connecting to Fitchburg
- Lowell Line serving northern Middlesex County
- Haverhill/Reading Line and Newburyport/Rockport Line serving Essex County & Boston's North Shore
Amtrak service to New York City and Washington, D.C.
Amtrak Downeaster service to Maine from North Station
Massport Logan Express
Plymouth & Brockton Street Railway Co.

The first railway line in the United States was in Quincy. See Neponset River.

The following Regional Transit Authorities have bus service that connects with MBTA commuter rail stations:

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

The Salem Ferry, 92 ft. Catamaran is photographed approaching its dock off Blaney Street at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site in Salem, Massachusetts, United States.

Port of Boston (Massport)
Cape Cod Canal

Geography

Rivers
Hills
- Bellevue Hill
- Great Blue Hill

Climate

Climate data for Concord Municipal Airport, New Hampshire (1981−2010 normals, extremes 1903–present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	69 (20.6)	67 (19.4)	89 (31.7)	95 (35)	98 (36.7)	101 (38.3)	102 (38.9)	101 (38.3)	98 (36.7)	90 (32.2)	80 (26.7)	73 (22.8)	102 (-17.8)
Average high °F (°C)	30.8 (-0.67)	34.9 (1.61)	43.8 (6.56)	57.4 (14.11)	68.9 (20.5)	77.4 (25.22)	82.3 (27.94)	80.9 (27.17)	72.6 (22.56)	60.5 (15.83)	48.4 (9.11)	36.3 (2.39)	58.0 (14.44)
Average low °F (°C)	10.4 (-12)	13.8 (-10.11)	22.5 (-5.28)	32.7 (0.39)	42.6 (5.89)	52.5 (11.39)	57.7 (14.28)	56.1 (13.39)	47.4 (8.56)	35.8 (2.11)	28.2 (-2.11)	17.2 (-8.22)	34.8 (1.56)
Record low °F (°C)	−33 (-36.1)	−37 (-38.3)	−16 (-26.7)	4 (-15.6)	21 (-6.1)	30 (-1.1)	35 (1.7)	29 (-1.7)	20 (-6.7)	10 (-12.2)	−5 (-20.6)	−22 (-30)	-37 (-17.8)
Precipitation inches (mm)	2.70 (68.6)	2.62 (66.5)	3.27 (83.1)	3.41 (86.6)	3.66 (93)	3.69 (93.7)	3.74 (95)	3.18 (80.8)	3.38 (85.9)	4.04 (102.6)	3.72 (94.5)	3.20 (81.3)	40.61 (1,031.5)
Snowfall inches (cm)	18.1 (46)	12.3 (31.2)	11.1 (28.2)	2.8 (7.1)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	trace	2.6 (6.6)	14.5 (36.8)	61.4 (156)
% Humidity	67.9	66.0	64.8	62.0	65.0	70.9	71.8	74.5	76.3	72.8	73.3	72.3	69.8
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)	10.8	9.5	11.5	11.8	12.4	12.7	10.9	9.8	9.3	10.1	11.2	10.9	130.9
Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.1 in)	8.2	6.5	5.3	1.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.9	6.6	29.7
Sunshine hours	162.8	171.8	210.5	223.2	258.4	274.3	295.8	261.9	214.7	183.4	127.8	134.8	2,519.4
Source: NOAA (relative humidity and sun 1961–1990)

Climate data for Boston (Logan Airport), 1981−2010 normals, extremes 1872−present
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	72 (22.2)	73 (22.8)	89 (31.7)	94 (34.4)	97 (36.1)	100 (37.8)	104 (40)	102 (38.9)	102 (38.9)	90 (32.2)	83 (28.3)	76 (24.4)	104 (-17.8)
Average high °F (°C)	35.8 (2.11)	38.7 (3.72)	45.4 (7.44)	55.6 (13.11)	66.0 (18.89)	75.9 (24.39)	81.4 (27.44)	79.6 (26.44)	72.4 (22.44)	61.4 (16.33)	51.5 (10.83)	41.2 (5.11)	58.8 (14.89)
Average low °F (°C)	22.2 (-5.44)	24.7 (-4.06)	31.1 (-0.5)	40.6 (4.78)	49.9 (9.94)	59.5 (15.28)	65.4 (18.56)	64.6 (18.11)	57.4 (14.11)	46.5 (8.06)	38.0 (3.33)	28.2 (-2.11)	44.1 (6.72)
Record low °F (°C)	−13 (-25)	−18 (-27.8)	−8 (-22.2)	11 (-11.7)	31 (-0.6)	41 (5)	50 (10)	46 (7.8)	34 (1.1)	25 (-3.9)	−2 (-18.9)	−17 (-27.2)	-18 (-17.8)
Precipitation inches (mm)	3.36 (85.3)	3.25 (82.6)	4.32 (109.7)	3.74 (95)	3.49 (88.6)	3.68 (93.5)	3.43 (87.1)	3.35 (85.1)	3.44 (87.4)	3.94 (100.1)	3.99 (101.3)	3.78 (96)	43.77 (1,111.8)
Snowfall inches (cm)	12.9 (32.8)	10.9 (27.7)	7.8 (19.8)	1.9 (4.8)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	trace	1.3 (3.3)	9.0 (22.9)	43.8 (111.3)
% Humidity	62.3	62.0	63.1	63.0	66.7	68.5	68.4	70.8	71.8	68.5	67.5	65.4	66.5
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)	11.3	9.8	11.6	11.2	12.0	10.9	9.6	9.4	8.6	9.4	10.6	11.6	126.0
Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.1 in)	6.7	5.3	4.2	0.7	0	0	0	0	0	0.1	0.8	4.6	22.4
Sunshine hours	163.4	168.4	213.7	227.2	267.3	286.5	300.9	277.3	237.1	206.3	143.2	142.3	2,633.6
Source: NOAA (relative humidity and sun 1961−1990)

Climate data for Providence, Rhode Island (T. F. Green Airport), 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1904–present
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	69 (20.6)	72 (22.2)	90 (32.2)	98 (36.7)	96 (35.6)	98 (36.7)	102 (38.9)	104 (40)	100 (37.8)	88 (31.1)	81 (27.2)	77 (25)	104 (40)
Average high °F (°C)	37.4 (3)	40.3 (4.61)	47.8 (8.78)	58.6 (14.78)	68.4 (20.22)	77.5 (25.28)	82.8 (28.22)	81.4 (27.44)	74.2 (23.44)	63.3 (17.39)	53.2 (11.78)	42.3 (5.72)	60.6 (15.89)
Average low °F (°C)	21.0 (-6.11)	23.6 (-4.67)	30.0 (-1.11)	39.6 (4.22)	48.6 (9.22)	58.4 (14.67)	64.2 (17.89)	63.2 (17.33)	55.3 (12.94)	43.9 (6.61)	35.7 (2.06)	26.3 (-3.17)	42.5 (5.83)
Record low °F (°C)	−13 (-25)	−17 (-27.2)	1 (-17.2)	11 (-11.7)	29 (-1.7)	39 (3.9)	48 (8.9)	40 (4.4)	32 (0)	20 (-6.7)	6 (-14.4)	−12 (-24.4)	−17 (-27.2)
Precipitation inches (mm)	3.86 (98)	3.29 (83.6)	5.01 (127.3)	4.36 (110.7)	3.55 (90.2)	3.64 (92.5)	3.29 (83.6)	3.60 (91.4)	3.92 (99.6)	3.93 (99.8)	4.51 (114.6)	4.22 (107.2)	47.18 (1,198.4)
Snowfall inches (cm)	9.0 (22.9)	8.5 (21.6)	5.5 (14)	0.6 (1.5)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	1.5 (3.8)	8.7 (22.1)	33.8 (85.9)
% Humidity	63.9	63.0	62.9	61.4	66.6	70.1	71.0	72.5	73.0	70.2	68.9	67.0	67.5
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)	10.9	9.7	11.9	11.3	12.0	10.9	9.4	9.0	8.7	9.4	10.1	11.6	124.9
Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.1 in)	5.7	4.6	3.5	0.4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.6	3.9	18.7
Sunshine hours	171.7	172.6	215.6	225.1	254.9	274.1	290.6	262.8	233.0	208.7	148.0	148.6	2,605.7
Source: NOAA (relative humidity and sun 1961–1990), The Weather Channel

Sports

Main page: Sports in Boston

Club	Sport	League	Stadium	Established	League titles
Boston Bruins	Ice hockey	National Hockey League	TD Garden (Boston)	1924	6 Stanley Cups 7 Eastern Conference Titles
Boston Cannons	Lacrosse	Major League Lacrosse	Harvard Stadium (Boston)	2001	1 MLL Championship
Boston Celtics	Basketball	National Basketball Association	TD Garden (Boston)	1946	17 NBA Championships 21 Eastern Conference Titles
Boston Pride	Ice hockey	National Women's Hockey League	Bright Hockey Center (Boston)	2015	2 Isobel Cups
Boston Red Sox	Baseball	Major League Baseball	Fenway Park (Boston)	1901	9 MLB World Series Champions 14 American League Pennants
New England Patriots	Football	National Football League	Gillette Stadium (Foxboro)	1960	6 Super Bowl Champions 11 AFC Champions
New England Revolution	Soccer	Major League Soccer	Gillette Stadium (Foxboro)	1995	1 US Open Cup 1 SuperLiga

Annual sporting events include:

The Boston Marathon, 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.

Higher education

Harvard University, a leading global university, is located in Cambridge, MA in Greater Boston

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 United States.