Greater Boston Explained

Greater Boston
Settlement Type:	Combined Statistical Area
Subdivision Type:	Country
Subdivision Name:	United States
Subdivision Type1:	State
Subdivision Name1:	Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island
Parts Type:	Principal cities
Parts:	Worcester Providence Cambridge Manchester Lowell Brockton Lynn New Bedford
Unit Pref:	US
Population Total:	8,466,186 (CSA) 4,941,632 (MSA)
Population As Of:	2020
Demographics Type2:	GDP
Demographics2 Footnotes:	^[1]
Demographics2 Title1:	Boston (MSA)
Demographics2 Info1:	$571.7 billion (2022)
Area Code:	617, 781, 857, 339, 978, 508, 351, 774, 603, 401
Timezone1:	EST
Utc Offset1:	−5
Timezone1 Dst:	EDT
Utc Offset1 Dst:	−4

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 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 US Census definition) include much of these areas and portions of southern New Hampshire. While the city of Boston covers 48.4mi2 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,^[2] engineering, higher education, finance, and maritime trade.^[3]

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,^[4] 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.^[5] In the late 18th century, Boston became known as the "Cradle of Liberty"^[6] 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,^[7] and transcendentalist^[8] movements.^[9] 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.^[10] 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, founded in 1636,^[11] with the largest financial endowment of any university,^[12] and whose Law School has spawned a contemporaneous majority of United States Supreme Court Justices.^[13] 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.^{[14] [15]} 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.^[16]

Geography

Boundary definitions

Metropolitan Area

The most restrictive definition of the Greater Boston area is the region administered by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.^[17] 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,^[18] in an area of 1422sqmi,^[17] of which 39% is forested and an additional 11% is water, wetland, or other open space.^[19]

The cities and towns included in this definitions are:^[20]

Metropolitan 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.^{[21] [22]} 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:^[21]

• 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 Merrimack Valley communities, parts of southern New Hampshire (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 Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire:^[23]

• 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

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

Subregions

• 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

Climate

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

Demographics

Greater Boston has a sizable Jewish community, estimated at between 210,000 people,^{[24] [25]} and 261,000^[26] 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.^[24]

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.^[27]

County	2021 Estimate	2020 Census	Change	Area	Density
Middlesex County, Massachusetts		817.82sqmi
Essex County, Massachusetts		492.56sqmi
Suffolk County, Massachusetts		58.15sqmi
Norfolk County, Massachusetts		396.11sqmi
Plymouth County, Massachusetts		659.07sqmi
Rockingham County, New Hampshire		694.72sqmi
Strafford County, New Hampshire		368.97sqmi
Total		3487.4sqmi

The 40 most diverse Census tracts in the Boston CSA:^[28]

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, Rhode Island	Pawtucket	151	4,472	24	24	29	1	23
4	Pawtucket, Rhode Island	Pawtucket	164	4,938	29	26	21	2	20
5	Dorchester, Massachusetts	Dorchester	912	3,234	30	24	22	6	18
6	Dorchester, Massachusetts	Dorchester	92101	6,451	30	22	11	31	6
7	Brockton	5115	4,308	21	32	13	2	32
8	Brockton, Massachusetts	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, Rhode Island	Pawtucket	154	2,258	35	20	35	0	11
12	Brockton, Massachusetts	Brockton	5114	3,716	24	36	14	2	23
13	Brockton, Massachusetts	Brockton	5109	2,531	24	36	16	1	24
14	Brockton, Massachusetts	Brockton	5103	3,798	23	38	15	2	24
15	Brockton, Massachusetts	Brockton	5104	3,706	19	38	15	2	25
16	Dorchester, Massachusetts	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, Massachusetts	Brockton	511301	5,334	39	31	11	2	17
23	Providence, Rhode Island	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, Massachusetts	Cambridge	3549	6,058	35	30	9	20	5
27	South Boston	61101	2,232	20	21	42	14	2
28	Brockton, Massachusetts	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, Massachusetts	Brockton	5108	6,339	18	44	12	2	22
32	Mission Hill, Boston	Mission Hill	81001	4,890	45	14	19	19	2
33	Malden, Massachusetts	Malden	3418	6,554	46	20	13	16	5
34	South Boston	607	1,893	19	20	46	10	5
35	Brockton, Massachusetts	Brockton	5107	5,656	46	31	8	4	11
36	Brockton, Massachusetts	Brockton	5112	4,849	47	26	11	1	13
37	Somerville	351404	4,289	47	7	22	13	11
38	Lynn, Massachusetts	Lynn	2071	3,513	18	11	48	19	3
39	Framingham	383101	4,923	23	10	48	1	18
40	Mission Hill, Boston	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:^[28]

Rank	City or Neighborhood	Census Tract	Population	% Hispanic or Latino
1	Lawrence	2525	3,810	94
2	Lawrence, Massachusetts	Lawrence	2509	2,193	93
3	Lawrence, Massachusetts	Lawrence	2504	3,858	90
4	Lawrence, Massachusetts	Lawrence	2503	2,101	89
5	Lawrence, Massachusetts	Lawrence	2513	3,721	89
6	Lawrence, Massachusetts	Lawrence	2512	1,356	86
7	Lawrence, Massachusetts	Lawrence	2507	4,756	86
8	Lawrence, Massachusetts	Lawrence	251	1,782	85
9	Chelsea	1602	4,043	83
10	Lawrence, Massachusetts	Lawrence	2506	5,599	83
11	Lawrence, Massachusetts	Lawrence	2514	5,053	77
12	Chelsea, Massachusetts	Chelsea	160101	7,551	76
13	Lawrence, Massachusetts	Lawrence	2501	2,329	75
14	Lawrence, Massachusetts	Lawrence	2516	5,977	74
15	Lawrence, Massachusetts	Lawrence	2511	2,937	73
16	Lawrence, Massachusetts	Lawrence	2502	5,524	72
17	Chelsea, Massachusetts	Chelsea	1604	2,716	71
18	Chelsea, Massachusetts	Chelsea	160501	5,604	71
19	Providence	16	8,540	70
20	Lawrence, Massachusetts	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, Rhode Island	Providence	2	6,452	64
27	Providence, Rhode Island	Providence	4	3,761	64
28	Providence, Rhode Island	Providence	14	6,693	63
29	Providence, Rhode Island	Providence	5	3,040	63
30	Central Falls	11	5,534	63
31	Lawrence, Massachusetts	Lawrence	2508	6,932	63
32	Chelsea, Massachusetts	Chelsea	160502	4,460	62
33	Methuen	2524	4,175	62
34	Providence, Rhode Island	Providence	17	3,744	62
35	Providence, Rhode Island	Providence	18	7,114	61
36	Central Falls, Rhode Island	Central Falls	111	4,176	61
37	East Boston	50101	5,115	61
38	Lawrence, Massachusetts	Lawrence	2517	5,145	61
39	Providence, Rhode Island	Providence	3	7,714	60
40	Central Falls, Rhode Island	Central Falls	108	4,763	59

Census tracts in the Boston CSA with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Black American:^[28]

Rank	City or Neighborhood	Census Tract	Population	% Black
1	Mattapan	101101	3,115	84
2	Mattapan, Massachusetts	Mattapan	101102	4,396	84
3	Mattapan, Massachusetts	Mattapan	101001	5,480	83
4	Mattapan, Massachusetts	Mattapan	1003	3,303	80
5	Mattapan, Massachusetts	Mattapan	1002	2,787	78
6	Mattapan, Massachusetts	Mattapan	101002	4,979	77
7	Dorchester	923	2,893	77
8	Roxbury	82	2,815	74
9	Roxbury, Massachusetts	Roxbury	817	3,820	71
10	Hyde Park	1404	7,650	71
11	Roxbury, Massachusetts	Roxbury	901	4,571	71
12	Dorchester, Massachusetts	Dorchester	919	3,860	70
13	Dorchester, Massachusetts	Dorchester	1004	4,865	68
14	Roxbury, Massachusetts	Roxbury	819	3,115	66
15	Roxbury, Massachusetts	Roxbury	924	5,277	66
16	Roxbury, Massachusetts	Roxbury	818	2,898	65
17	Mattapan, Massachusetts	Mattapan	1001	5,510	64
18	Roxbury, Massachusetts	Roxbury	815	2,134	62
19	Roxbury, Massachusetts	Roxbury	821	5,025	62
20	Roxbury, Massachusetts	Roxbury	803	1,769	60
21	Roxbury, Massachusetts	Roxbury	903	3,179	58
22	Dorchester, Massachusetts	Dorchester	1009	4,072	58
23	Dorchester, Massachusetts	Dorchester	1005	5,909	55
24	Hyde Park, Massachusetts	Hyde Park	1403	6,382	54
25	Dorchester, Massachusetts	Dorchester	92	4,945	54
26	Roxbury, Massachusetts	Roxbury	902	2,233	53
27	Dorchester, Massachusetts	Dorchester	918	3,452	52
28	Roxbury, Massachusetts	Roxbury	904	3,659	52
29	Roxbury, Massachusetts	Roxbury	814	3,003	50
30	Roxbury, Massachusetts	Roxbury	80401	2,710	50
31	Roslindale	140106	1,901	49
32	Dorchester, Massachusetts	Dorchester	917	3,069	47
33	Dorchester, Massachusetts	Dorchester	914	2,741	46
34	Brockton	5108	6,339	44
35	Roxbury, Massachusetts	Roxbury	805	3,096	44
36	Roxbury, Massachusetts	Roxbury	801	3,350	43
37	Randolph	420302	7,703	42
38	Roxbury, Massachusetts	Roxbury	813	4,760	42
39	Dorchester, Massachusetts	Dorchester	922	3,349	42
40	Randolph, Massachusetts	Randolph	420202	6,303	40

Census tracts in the Boston CSA with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Asian American:^[28]

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, Massachusetts	Lowell	3118	3,513	54
5	Lowell, Massachusetts	Lowell	3117	5,098	47
6	Quincy	417502	4,639	45
7	Quincy, Massachusetts	Quincy	4172	8,182	44
8	Malden	3413	5,439	39
9	Lowell, Massachusetts	Lowell	3113	4,057	38
10	Westborough	742402	3,026	38
11	Quincy, Massachusetts	Quincy	417501	5,004	37
12	Cambridge	353102	5,040	36
13	Quincy, Massachusetts	Quincy	417802	3,150	35
14	Lowell, Massachusetts	Lowell	3111	2,410	34
15	Lowell, Massachusetts	Lowell	3115	2,974	33
16	Dorchester	92101	6,451	31
17	Quincy, Massachusetts	Quincy	417601	5,196	30
18	Fenway–Kenmore	10103	4,569	29
19	Quincy, Massachusetts	Quincy	4180002	7,020	28
20	Quincy, Massachusetts	Quincy	417602	5,155	28
21	Chinatown, Boston	Chinatown/Leather District/Downtown	70101	5,902	27
22	Cambridge, Massachusetts	Cambridge	3539	7,090	27
23	Lowell, Massachusetts	Lowell	3114	5,986	26
24	Lowell, Massachusetts	Lowell	3116	5,295	26
25	Lowell, Massachusetts	Lowell	3107	4,441	26
26	Quincy, Massachusetts	Quincy	4171	4,264	26
27	Dorchester, Massachusetts	Dorchester	916	3,138	26
28	Malden, Massachusetts	Malden	3412	6,857	25
29	Malden, Massachusetts	Malden	341102	4,564	25
30	Malden, Massachusetts	Malden	341101	3,675	25
31	Acton, Massachusetts	Acton	363102	5,909	25
32	Dorchester, Massachusetts	Dorchester	911	4,861	25
33	Allston-Brighton	703	2,791	24
34	Lexington	3583	5,526	24
35	Quincy, Massachusetts	Quincy	418004	4,280	23
36	Brookline	4009	3,865	22
37	Cambridge, Massachusetts	Cambridge	3532	4,897	22
38	Cambridge, Massachusetts	Cambridge	352101	1,654	22
39	Shrewsbury	7391	9,557	22
40	Westborough, Massachusetts	Westborough	7612	5,780	22

Census tracts in the Boston CSA with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Irish American:^[29]

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, Massachusetts	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, Massachusetts	Quincy	417400	2,566	53
South Boston	60301	3,076	52
Abington	520100	6,458	52
Braintree	419200	5,002	52
Braintree, Massachusetts	Braintree	419600	6,766	52
Abington, Massachusetts	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:^[30]

City or Neighborhood	Census Tract	Population	% Italian
Johnston	012402	2,486	63
Cranston	014501	5,179	58
Johnston, Rhode Island	Johnston	012500	5,490	57
Johnston, Rhode Island	Johnston	012200	7,187	57
Providence	011902	4,780	55
Cranston, Rhode Island	Cranston	014800	5,591	55
Saugus	208102	3,343	51
Cranston, Rhode Island	Cranston	014300	4,716	49
Cranston, Rhode Island	Cranston	014600	6,991	49
Cranston, Rhode Island	Cranston	014502	4,096	48
Johnston, Rhode Island	Johnston	012300	6,656	48
Johnston, Rhode Island	Johnston	012401	6,950	48
Stoneham	337102	5,042	45
Stoneham, Massachusetts	Stoneham	337202	4,849	45
Revere	170200	4,564	45
Revere, Massachusetts	Revere	170502	2,818	43
Cranston, Rhode Island	Cranston	013900	2,992	43
Revere, Massachusetts	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:^[31]

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, Massachusetts	New Bedford	652400	2,664	64
New Bedford, Massachusetts	New Bedford	652000	2,676	62
Fall River, Massachusetts	Fall River	640500	5,165	60
Fall River, Massachusetts	Fall River	641200	2,803	59
New Bedford, Massachusetts	New Bedford	650500	3,141	58
Fall River, Massachusetts	Fall River	640901	5,071	58
New Bedford, Massachusetts	New Bedford	650400	3,773	57
New Bedford, Massachusetts	New Bedford	652500	2,589	56
East Providence	010400	6,661	55
New Bedford, Massachusetts	New Bedford	652300	2,870	54
Fall River, Massachusetts	Fall River	641000	2,419	54
Fall River, Massachusetts	Fall River	640300	3,693	53
Westport	646101	7,356	53
Fall River, Massachusetts	Fall River	640700	2,900	53
Fall River, Massachusetts	Fall River	640400	2,682	53
New Bedford, Massachusetts	New Bedford	650101	5,753	53
Fall River, Massachusetts	Fall River	640100	5,358	52

Census tracts in the Boston CSA with French or French Canadian listed as first ancestry:^[32]

City or Neighborhood	Census Tract	Population	% French
Woonsocket	018500	2,831	66
Woonsocket, Rhode Island	Woonsocket	017700	3,518	61
Woonsocket, Rhode Island	Woonsocket	017500	3,128	59
Woonsocket, Rhode Island	Woonsocket	017800	2,514	58
Burrillville	013001	3,479	56
North Smithfield	012802	2,391	54
North Smithfield, Rhode Island	North Smithfield	012803	4,776	53
Burrillville, Rhode Island	Burrillville	013002	7,539	53
North Smithfield, Rhode Island	North Smithfield	012801	4,800	52
Manchester	002300	3,758	52
Woonsocket, Rhode Island	Woonsocket	017900	3,049	51
Burrillville, Rhode Island	Burrillville	012900	4,937	50
Manchester, New Hampshire	Manchester	000202	2,297	49
Manchester, New Hampshire	Manchester	002100	4,782	49
Woonsocket, Rhode Island	Woonsocket	017600	2,560	49
Manchester, New Hampshire	Manchester	002600	5,746	48
Manchester, New Hampshire	Manchester	002200	3,232	47
Woonsocket, Rhode Island	Woonsocket	018400	6,527	47
Blackstone	747101	5,110	47
Woonsocket, Rhode Island	Woonsocket	018000	2,680	46

Largest cities and towns

Cities and towns with a population over 50,000 as of the 2020 census include:^{[33] [34] [35] [36] [37]}

State capital
State largest city

Rank	Name	State	Population (2020)	Population (2010)	Change
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

Education

See also: List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston and List of colleges and universities in Massachusetts. 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.

Economy

Major companies

References:^{[38] [39] [40] [41]}

• 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 (headquarters)
• Charles River Laboratories, in Wilmington (headquarters)
• Cisco Systems, in Boxborough
• David Clark Company, in Worcester (manufacturer of space suits)
• Diebold, in Marlborough (regional headquarters)
• Dell Technologies, in Hopkinton (headquarters)
• Evergreen Solar, in Marlborough (headquarters)
• 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)
• National Amusements, in Norwood (headquarters)
• Novartis, in Cambridge (US headquarters)
• 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)
• UniFirst, in Wilmington (headquarters)
• WB Mason, in Brockton (headquarters)
• Wyman-Gordon, in Grafton (complex metal components and products)
• Akamai Technologies, in Cambridge (headquarters)
• Athenahealth, in Watertown, Massachusetts (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 Waltham
• Dunkin' Brands, in Canton (headquarters)
• Facebook, in Cambridge
• General Electric Aviation, in Lynn
• Global Partners, in Waltham (headquarters)
• 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 Burlington (headquarters)
• Lionbridge, in Waltham (US headquarters)
• Meditech, in Westwood (headquarters)
• Microsoft Corporation, in Cambridge
• Millennium Pharmaceuticals, in Cambridge
• Moderna, in Cambridge (headquarters)
• Motorola Solutions, Inc., in Somerville
• National Amusements, in Dedham (headquarters)
• National Grid, in Waltham (US headquarters)
• NetApp Inc, in Waltham
• 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)
• Philips Lighting in Burlington
• Progress Software in Bedford (headquarters)
• Raytheon, in Waltham (headquarters)
• SharkNinja, in Needham (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)^[42]
• Wolverine World Wide, in Waltham, Massachusetts (headquarters for Keds, Saucony, Sperry Top-Sider, and Stride Rite)^[43]
• American Tower (headquarters)
• Au Bon Pain (headquarters)
• Bain & Company (headquarters)
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (headquarters)
• Boston Consulting Group (headquarters)
• Converse (headquarters)
• Fidelity Investments (headquarters)
• General Electric (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)
• Partners HealthCare (moving to Assembly Row, Somerville)
• PTC (headquarters)
• Puma (North American headquarters, moving to Assembly Row, Somerville)
• Putnam Investments (headquarters)
• Rapid7
• Reebok (US headquarters)
• Roku
• Sapient Corporation (headquarters)
• Sonesta International Hotels Corp. (headquarters)
• State Street Corporation (headquarters)
• Steward Health Care System (headquarters)
• Toast, Inc. (headquarters)
• Threat Stack (headquarters)
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals (headquarters)
• Wayfair (headquarters)
• Wellington Management Company (headquarters)
• Zipcar (headquarters)

Transportation

See also: Transportation in Boston.

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, 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

• Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA, generally known as the "T") rapid transit lines:
  • Red Line heavy rail: Cambridge–Braintree and Boston (Dorchester)
  • Orange Line heavy rail: Boston (Jamaica Plain)–Malden
  • Blue Line heavy rail: Boston–Revere
  • Green Line light rail/streetcar: Medford–Brighton, Brookline, and Newton
  • Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line streetcar: Ashmont–Milton–Mattapan
  • Silver Line bus rapid transit South Station–Logan Airport and Downtown–
• MBTA Commuter Rail
  • Old Colony Lines serving Plymouth County
  • Providence/Stoughton Line serving northern Bristol County, central Norfolk County, Kent County, and Washington County, connecting to Providence, Rhode Island
  • Fairmount Line shuttle service from South Station
  • Franklin/Foxboro 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, Washington, D.C. and Chicago from South Station
• 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

• Port of Boston (Massport)
• Cape Cod Canal

Sports

See main article: 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 Celtics	Basketball	National Basketball Association	TD Garden (Boston)	1946	18 NBA Championships 23 Eastern Conference Titles
Boston Red Sox	Baseball		Fenway Park (Boston)	1901	9 MLB World Series Championships 14 American League Pennants
New England Patriots	Football		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	1 MLR Championship

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.

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

Further reading

• Book: Wilson , Susan . 2005. The Literary Trail of Greater Boston: A Tour of Sites in Boston, Cambridge, and Concord, Revised Edition. Commonwealth Editions. 1-889833-67-3. 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.
• Book: Warner , Sam Jr. . 2001. Greater Boston: Adapting Regional Traditions to the Present. University of Pennsylvania Press. 0-8122-1769-1.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Total Real Gross Domestic Product for Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH (MSA). . Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
2. Web site: Why Boston Will Be the Star of The AI Revolution. October 24, 2017 . VentureFizz. November 9, 2023. Boston startups are working to overcome some of the largest technical barriers holding AI back, and they’re attracting attention across a wide variety of industries in the process..
3. Web site: Housing and Economic Development:Key Industries. mass.gov. May 9, 2016. April 22, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150422015358/http://www.mass.gov/hed/economic/industries/. dead.
4. Web site: Where Literary Legends Took Shape Around Boston. The New York Times. Will Joyner. 9 April 1999. May 9, 2016.
5. Web site: The 1692 Salem Witch Trials. SalemWitchTrialsMuseum.com. May 9, 2016.
6. Web site: Faneuil Hall. Celebrateboston.com. April 21, 2015.
7. Web site: The Temperance Issue in the Election of 1840: Massachusetts. Teachushistory.org. May 9, 2016.
8. Book: Packer. Barbara. The Transcendentalists. 2007. University of Georgia Press; First edition (April 25, 2007). 978-0820329581.
9. Web site: Images of the Antislavery Movement in Massachusetts. Massachusetts Historical Society. May 9, 2016.
10. News: Massachusetts court strikes down ban on same-sex marriage. April 21, 2015. Reuters . CNN . November 18, 2003.
11. Web site: History of Harvard University. Harvard University. April 21, 2015 . deviated . https://web.archive.org/web/20150502084529/http://www.harvard.edu/history . May 2, 2015 .
12. News: Harvard's Endowment Remains Biggest of All. Tamar Lewin. The New York Times. January 28, 2015. May 9, 2016.
13. News: Meet Merrick Garland, Obama's Supreme Court nominee. Richard Wolf. USA Today. March 16, 2016. May 9, 2016.
14. Web site: Kendall Square Initiative. MIT. December 1, 2016.
15. Web site: When a neighborhood is crowned the most innovative square mile in the world, how do you keep it that way?. Lelund Cheung. Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC. December 1, 2016.
16. Web site: World Reputation Rankings . www.timeshighereducation.com . 21 April 2016. May 9, 2016.
17. Web site: About MAPC . https://web.archive.org/web/20070221050155/http://www.mapc.org/about_mapc.html . 2007-02-21 . 2007-05-14 . Metropolitan Area Planning Council.
18. Web site: Metropolitan Area Planning Council Strategic Plan 2015–2020 . Metropolitan Area Planning Council . 2017-04-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161011012416/http://www.mapc.org/sites/default/files/FINAL%20StrategicPlan%2012-2-14-web.pdf . 2016-10-11 . dead .
19. Web site: Transportation Plan – Overview . 2009 . Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization . 2009-09-27 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080829235936/http://www.ctps.org/bostonmpo/3_programs/1_transportation_plan/plan.html . August 29, 2008 .
20. Web site: Metro Area - the Region . https://web.archive.org/web/20070221072504/http://www.mapc.org/metro_area/cities_towns.html . February 21, 2007 .
21. Web site: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area . 2024-04-08 . data.census.gov.
22. Web site: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metropolitan NECTA . https://web.archive.org/web/20230730035302/https://censusreporter.org/profiles/35000US71650-boston-cambridge-newton-ma-nh-metropolitan-necta/ . 2023-07-30 . 2024-04-08 . censusreporter.org.
23. Web site: Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT Combined Statistical Area . 2024-04-08 . census.gov.
24. News: Jewish population in region rises. The Boston Globe. 2009-11-29. Michael Paulson . 2006-11-10.
25. Web site: Cities with the Largest Jewish Population in the Diaspora. https://web.archive.org/web/19991206140346/http://adherents.com/largecom/com_judaism.html#cities. usurped. December 6, 1999. 2009-11-29. adherents.com.
26. Web site: Metro Area Membership Report. The Association of Religion Data Archives. 2009-11-29. February 23, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120223180857/http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/metro/1123_2000.asp. dead.
27. News: 12.9% in Seattle are gay or bisexual, second only to S.F., study says . 2009-05-01 . The Seattle Times . The Seattle Times Company . 2006.
28. News: Mapping the 2010 U.S. Census. The New York Times. 13 December 2010.
29. Web site: Irish as First Ancestry Population Percentage Rank of Census Tract within 100 miles of Zip Code 02176. Usa.com. 4 January 2015.
30. Web site: Italian as First Ancestry Population Percentage Rank of Census Tract within 100 miles of Zip Code 02176. Usa.com. 4 January 2015.
31. Web site: Welcome to nginx . www.usa.com . 2 February 2022 . https://archive.today/20141001051524/http://www.usa.com/rank/Portugese-as-first-ancestry-population-percentage--rank-of-census-tract-near--02176.htm?yr=3000&dis=100&wist=&plow=&phigh= . 1 October 2014 . dead.
32. Web site: French as First Ancestry Population Percentage Rank of Census Tract within 100 miles of Zip Code 02176. Usa.com. 4 January 2015.
33. Web site: Explore Census Data. U.S. Census Bureau. February 3, 2022.
34. Web site: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (DP-1): Connecticut. American Factfinder. U.S. Census Bureau. December 18, 2018. https://archive.today/20200213161321/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/SF1DP1/0400000US09.06000. February 13, 2020. dead.
35. Web site: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (DP-1): Massachusetts. American Factfinder. U.S. Census Bureau. December 18, 2018. https://archive.today/20200213155420/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/SF1DP1/0400000US25.06000. February 13, 2020. dead.
36. Web site: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (DP-1): New Hampshire. American Factfinder. U.S. Census Bureau. December 18, 2018. https://archive.today/20200213160941/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/SF1DP1/0400000US33.06000. February 13, 2020. dead.
37. Web site: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (DP-1): Rhode Island. American Factfinder. U.S. Census Bureau. December 18, 2018. https://archive.today/20200213161143/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/SF1DP1/0400000US44.06000. February 13, 2020. dead.
38. News: 2009 Globe 100 – Top Massachusetts-based employers . The Boston Globe . 2010-01-19 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090522112709/http://www.boston.com/business/globe/globe100/globe_100_2009/mass_based_employers/ . May 22, 2009 .
39. http://ucso.indiana.edu/cgi-bin/Students/CareerResources/CityScapes/Boston.pdf
40. Web site: Top Companies in Massachusetts on the Inc. 5000 - Inc.com. Inc.com. 4 January 2015.
41. http://www.boston.com/business/globe/globe100/
42. Web site: Who We Are & About Us - Vistaprint . News.vistaprint.com . 4 January 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141018182241/http://news.vistaprint.com/facility/us-operations-and-north-american-business-unit-head-office . 18 October 2014 .
43. News: Goodison . Donna . Wolverine strides into Waltham . 17 May 2022 . Boston Herald . 20 July 2016.