Greater Boston facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Greater Boston
Combined Statistical Area
Boston in July 2015
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island
Principal cities	Boston Worcester Providence Cambridge Manchester Lowell Brockton  Quincy Lynn New Bedford
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
GDP
• Boston (MSA)	$571.7 billion (2022)
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Area code(s)	617, 781, 857, 339, 978, 508, 351, 774, 603, 401

Greater Boston is a large area in New England. It includes the city of Boston, which is the capital of Massachusetts. Boston is also the biggest city in New England. Greater Boston also covers many towns and cities around Boston.

The city of Boston is about 48 square miles. It had 675,647 people in 2020. But the whole Greater Boston area is much larger. It includes places like Providence, Rhode Island, Manchester, New Hampshire, and Worcester. More than 8.4 million people live in this wider area. This makes it one of the largest regions in the U.S.

Greater Boston is famous for its many colleges, universities, and hospitals. It has played a big role in American history and business. The region is a world leader in areas like biotechnology (making new medicines), artificial intelligence (AI), and engineering. It is also strong in finance and maritime trade (shipping).

Greater Boston is the 10th largest metropolitan area in the U.S. for population. It is the 6th largest when looking at combined statistical areas. Many important people and historical events in American culture happened here. This includes famous writers, politicians, and events from the American Revolution.

Plymouth was where the first colony in New England started in 1620. The Pilgrims arrived there on the Mayflower. Later, in 1692, the town of Salem had the famous Salem witch trials. In the late 1700s, Boston was called the "Cradle of Liberty." This was because of the important actions there that led to the American Revolution.

The Greater Boston region has been very important in science, business, and culture in the U.S. Before the American Civil War, it was a center for movements against slavery and for other social changes. Many famous American political families, like the Adams and Kennedy families, came from this area.

Harvard University in Cambridge is the oldest university in the U.S. It has a very large financial fund. Its Law School has trained many Justices. Kendall Square in Cambridge is known as "the most innovative square mile on the planet." This is because many new companies and ideas have started there since 2010. Both Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are among the top universities in the world.

Exploring the Geography of Greater Boston

What Defines the Greater Boston Area?

There are different ways to define the Greater Boston area. These definitions help with planning for things like transportation and economic growth.

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) Definition

The MAPC uses a strict definition for Greater Boston. This area includes 101 cities and towns. They are grouped into eight smaller regions. This area covers most of the land inside the I-495 highway. In 2013, about 3.2 million people lived in the MAPC district. This was almost half of Massachusetts' total population. The area is about 1,422 square miles. A lot of it is covered by forests, water, or open spaces.

The cities and towns in this definition are:

U.S. Census Bureau Definitions

The United States Census uses two main ways to define the Boston area. One is the Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA–NH Metro Area. This one is based on counties. The other is the Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA–NH Metropolitan NECTA. This one uses city and town borders.

The counties in the county-based definition are:

• 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 the towns from the MAPC definition. It also adds communities from the Merrimack Valley and parts of southern New Hampshire. This includes areas like Milford and Hampton. It also includes the Taunton area.

Cambridge and Boston with MIT and Kendall Square in the foreground. Boston's Financial District is in the background.

The Combined Statistical Area (CSA) Definition

The broadest definition is the Boston–Worcester–Providence combined statistical area. This area is based on where people travel for work. It includes counties in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.

Downtown Providence, Rhode Island in 2008.

The counties in this large area are:

• Connecticut
  • Windham County, Connecticut
• 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

In 2020, the total population for this wide region was about 8,466,186 people.

Smaller Regions within Greater Boston

Greater Boston is made up of many smaller regions. These include:

• Massachusetts
  • Central Massachusetts
    • Montachusett-North County
    • South County
    • Blackstone River Valley
    • North Shore
    • Cape Ann
  • Merrimack Valley
  • MetroWest
  • Southeastern Massachusetts
    • Cape Cod
  • South Coast
  • South Shore
• New Hampshire
  • Lakes Region
  • Seacoast
• Rhode Island
  • Blackstone Valley
  • East Bay

What is the Climate Like?

The Boston area has a humid continental climate. This means it has all four seasons with warm summers and cold winters. There is also a lot of humidity and precipitation (rain and snow) throughout the year.

People and Cultures of Greater Boston

St. Patrick's Day Parade in Scituate, Massachusetts. Many people in this area have Irish family backgrounds.

Boston's Chinatown has a beautiful gate called a paifang. It is home to many Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants.

Greater Boston has a large Jewish community. It is estimated that 5–6% of the population identifies as Jewish. This is higher than the national average. The number of Jewish people in Greater Boston is growing. This is partly because many children in mixed-faith families are raised Jewish.

The city of Boston also has one of the largest populations of people who identify as LGBT. It ranks fifth among major U.S. cities for this group.

Population by County

Here is a table showing the population in some counties within Greater Boston:

Most Diverse Areas

The following table shows some of the most diverse areas in Greater Boston. This means they have a mix of different racial and ethnic groups.

Largest Cities and Towns in Greater Boston

Here are the cities and towns in Greater Boston with more than 50,000 people, based on the 2020 census.

Rank	Name	State	Population (2020)	Population (2010)	Change
1.	Boston	Massachusetts	675,647	617,594	&10000000000000009399864+9.40%
2.	Worcester		206,518	181,045	&10000000000000014069982+14.07%
3.	Providence	Rhode Island	190,934	178,042	&10000000000000007240988+7.24%
4.	Cambridge	Massachusetts	118,403	105,162	&10000000000000012591049+12.59%
5.	Manchester	New Hampshire	115,644	109,565	&10000000000000005548304+5.55%
6.	Lowell	Massachusetts	115,554	106,519	&10000000000000008482054+8.48%
7.	Brockton		105,643	93,810	&10000000000000012613793+12.61%
8.	Quincy		101,636	92,271	&10000000000000010149451+10.15%
9.	Lynn		101,253	90,329	&10000000000000012093569+12.09%
10.	New Bedford		101,079	95,072	&10000000000000006318369+6.32%
11.	Fall River		94,000	88,857	&10000000000000005787951+5.79%
12.	Nashua	New Hampshire	91,322	86,494	&10000000000000005581890+5.58%
13.	Lawrence	Massachusetts	89,143	76,377	&10000000000000016714455+16.71%
14.	Newton		88,923	85,146	&10000000000000004435910+4.44%
15.	Cranston	Rhode Island	82,934	80,387	&10000000000000003168422+3.17%
16.	Warwick		82,823	82,672	&10000000000000000182649+0.18%
17.	Somerville	Massachusetts	81,045	75,754	&10000000000000006984449+6.98%
18.	Pawtucket	Rhode Island	75,604	71,148	&10000000000000006263001+6.26%
19.	Framingham	Massachusetts	72,362	68,318	&10000000000000005919377+5.92%
20.	Haverhill		67,787	60,879	&10000000000000011347098+11.35%
21.	Malden		66,263	59,450	&10000000000000011460050+11.46%
22.	Waltham		65,218	60,632	&10000000000000007563662+7.56%
23.	Brookline		63,191	58,732	&10000000000000007592113+7.59%
24.	Revere		62,186	51,755	&10000000000000020154574+20.15%
25.	Plymouth		61,217	56,468	&10000000000000008410072+8.41%
26.	Medford		59,659	56,173	&10000000000000006205828+6.21%
27.	Taunton		59,408	55,874	&10000000000000006324945+6.32%
28.	Weymouth		57,437	53,743	&10000000000000006873453+6.87%
29.	Peabody		54,481	51,251	&10000000000000006302316+6.30%
30.	Methuen		53,059	47,255	&10000000000000012282298+12.28%

Education in Greater Boston

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

Greater Boston is a very old and important center for higher education. It has many community colleges and two-year schools. It also has famous universities for both undergraduate and graduate studies. These include top schools for law, medicine, business, and technology. Greater Boston has seven "R1 Research Institutions." These are universities that do a lot of research. This is the highest number of such schools in any single metropolitan area in the United States.

Economy and Major Companies

Greater Boston has a strong economy. Many important companies have their main offices or large operations here. These companies are involved in many different industries.

Major Companies in Greater Boston

Getting Around Greater Boston: Transportation

Greater Boston has many ways to get around, from major highways to public transit and airports.

Major Highways and Routes

• I‑90
• I‑93
• I‑95
• I‑190
• I‑195
• I‑290
• I-293
• I-295
• I-395
• I‑495
• US 1
• US 3
• US 6
• US 20
• US 44
• 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 Serving the Region

• Logan International Airport in Boston is New England's largest airport.
• 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

Train and Bus Services

The MBTA district, with Commuter Rail lines in purple.

• The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), also known as the "T," has subway and light rail lines:
  • Red Line (heavy rail): Connects Cambridge to Braintree and Boston.
  • Orange Line (heavy rail): Connects Boston to Malden.
  • Blue Line (heavy rail): Connects Boston to Revere.
  • Green Line (light rail/streetcar): Connects Medford to Brighton, Brookline, and Newton.
  • Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line (streetcar): Connects Ashmont to Mattapan.
  • Silver Line (bus rapid transit): Connects South Station to Logan Airport and Downtown.
• The MBTA Commuter Rail connects Boston to many surrounding towns and cities.
• Amtrak provides train service to other major cities like New York City and Chicago.
• The Downeaster train goes from Boston to Maine.
• Massport Logan Express offers bus service to Logan Airport.
• Plymouth & Brockton Street Railway Co. provides bus services.

The first railway line in the United States was built in Quincy, near the Neponset River.

Several local bus services connect 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, a 92-foot catamaran, approaches its dock in Salem.

• The Port of Boston is a major shipping hub.
• The Cape Cod Canal is an important waterway.

Sports in Greater Boston

Greater Boston is home to many professional sports teams.

Annual Sporting Events

• The Boston Marathon is a famous race that goes from Hopkinton to Boston.
• The Head of the Charles Regatta is a large rowing race on the Charles River.
• Auto races like the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 are held at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The Greater Boston League is a sports conference for high schools in Massachusetts.

Images for kids

• 

  A parade in Boston.

See also

In Spanish: Gran Boston para niños