- Mar 7, 2025
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Boston, Massachusetts
Boston is a city in the northeastern United States that serves as both the county seat for Suffolk and the capitol of Massachusetts. It is situated on Massachusetts Bay, an Atlantic Ocean limb. The area of the city proper is exceptionally tiny for a large city, and more than one-fourth of it is made up of water, including a section of the Charles River, Boston Harbor, and the Atlantic. City's area is 46 square miles (119 square km). Population: 617,594 (2010); 1,887,792 in the Boston-Quincy Metro Division; 4,552,402 in the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy Metro Area; 675,647 in 2020; 2,054,736 in the Boston Metro Division; 4,941,632 in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton Metro Area.
Character of the City
The essence of Boston can only be partially defined by the region, the people, and the institutions that are located inside its political boundaries. Boston was an important station on a trading route to the West Indies during colonial times, and as such, it had a regular supply of molasses from the Caribbean, which led to the development of a famous meal that became known as Boston baked beans (beans baked in molasses). Boston is a representation of many things that have gone into the formation of the American consciousness both as a city and as a name, and its influence extends far beyond its immediate surroundings. Boston has had a significant impact on America for about three centuries as the spiritual capital of the New England states, as the forerunner of the American Revolution and the nation, and as the first hub of American culture. Boston has continued to serve as the hub of what may be the most varied and dynamic combination of educational, cultural, medical, and scientific activities in all of the United States, despite the fact that it has played a smaller role in national life than New England as a whole has since the early 20th century.
Landscape
The essence of Boston can only be partially defined by the region, the people, and the institutions that are located inside its political boundaries. Boston was an important station on a trading route to the West Indies during colonial times, and as such, it had a regular supply of molasses from the Caribbean, which led to the development of a famous meal that became known as Boston baked beans (beans baked in molasses). Boston is a representation of many things that have gone into the formation of the American consciousness both as a city and as a name, and its influence extends far beyond its immediate surroundings. Boston has had a significant impact on America for about three centuries as the spiritual capital of the New England states, as the forerunner of the American Revolution and the nation, and as the first hub of American culture. Boston has continued to serve as the hub of what may be the most varied and dynamic combination of educational, cultural, medical, and scientific activities in all of the United States, despite the fact that it has played a smaller role in national life than New England as a whole has since the early 20th century.
Climate
Boston has either a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) under the 3 °C (26.6 °F) isotherm or a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa) under the 0 °C isotherm, according to the Köppen climatic classification. The city is located in a region between the two climates, which is the best way to define it. Winters are often cold and stormy with sporadic periods of significant snowfall, while summers are typically warm and humid. Depending on the direction of the wind and the position of the jet stream, spring and fall are typically chilly to mild. Offshore wind patterns that are prevalent reduce the impact of the Atlantic Ocean. However, since warm air can occasionally be brought off the Atlantic, locations close to the shore will frequently get more rain than snow during the winter. USDA plant hardiness zones 6b (the majority of the city) and 7a meet in the city (Downtown, South Boston, and East Boston neighborhoods).
July has the highest average temperature, at 74.1 °F (23.4 °C). January has the coolest mean temperature, at 29.9 °F (1.2 °C). The average number of days with temperatures above 90 °F (32 °C) in the summer and below zero in the winter is roughly 13 and 25, respectively. On January 7, 2018, the temperature dropped to 2 °F (19 °C), which was the most recent reading below 0 °F (18 °C). The last time this happened was on July 22, 2011, when the temperature reached 103 °F (39 °C), which is why it can take decades for temperatures to surpass 100 °F (38 °C). The typical period of freezing weather in the city is from November 9 to April 5. On February 9, 1934, the official temperature record was 18 °F (28 °C), while on July 4, 1911, it was 104 °F (40 °C). While the record warm daily minimum is 83 °F (28 °C) on August 2, 1975, and July 21, 2019, the record cold daily maximum is 2 °F (17 °C) on December 30, 1917.
Religion
According to a 2014 Pew Research Center study, 57% of the city's residents identified as Christians, with 25% attending various Protestant churches and 29% professing Roman Catholic beliefs. The remaining 33% of residents claim no religious affiliation, and the remaining 10% of the population is made up of followers of Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Bahá', and other faiths.
With more than two million members and 339 churches, the Catholic Church had the most adherents as a single denomination in the Greater Boston area as of 2010. The Episcopal Church came in second with 58,000 members and 160 churches. There were 213 churches and 55,000 members of the United Church of Christ.
Within the Boston metro area, there are an estimated 248,000 Jews living in the city. In the Greater Boston area, more than half of Jewish households are located in Boston proper, Brookline, Newton, Cambridge, Somerville, or nearby municipalities.
Economy
Boston, a metropolis with a global reach, is ranked among the top 30 most economically significant cities in the world. The Greater Boston metropolitan area is the sixth-largest economy in the nation and the 12th-largest in the world, with a $363 billion GDP.
The colleges and institutions in Boston have a substantial effect on the local economy. More than 350,000 college students from all around the world come to Boston each year, adding more than US$4.8 billion to the local economy. Schools in the area are significant employers and draw business to the city and surrounding area. The Milken Institute ranked Boston as the top life sciences cluster in the nation. The city is home to a lot of technology companies and is a powerhouse for biotechnology. Of all the American cities, Boston receives the National Institutes of Health's greatest absolute annual funding.
The presence of universities, availability to startup finance, and the abundance of high-tech businesses are just a few of the factors that make the city very inventive. High technology is still a significant industry, and the Route 128 corridor and Greater Boston continue to be important hubs for venture capital investment.
Boston's economy is heavily reliant on tourism, which brought in $8.3 billion in 2011 from 21.2 million domestic and foreign tourists. Over 1.4 million foreign tourists, excluding those from Canada and Mexico, visited Boston in 2014, with visitors from China and the United Kingdom topping the list. Because Boston serves as both the regional headquarters for federal agencies and the capital of the state, the legal and government sectors make up a significant portion of the city's economy. The city is the oldest continuously running industrial and fishing port in the Western Hemisphere and a significant seaport on the East Coast of the United States.
Boston was classified as the second-most competitive financial services center in the United States and the thirteenth-most competitive financial services center overall in the 2018 Global Financial Centres Index. Boston has become one of the leading financial hubs in the country because to Boston-based Fidelity Investments, which helped popularize the mutual fund in the 1980s. Santander Bank's corporate office is located in the city, and Boston is a hub for venture capital businesses. The city is home to State Street Corporation, a company that specializes in asset management and custody services. Boston is a hub for printing and publishing; Bedford-St. Martin's Press, Beacon Press, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt all have their headquarters there. Several hundred employees work for publishing divisions of Pearson PLC in Boston. The Hynes Conference Center in the Back Bay, the Seaport World Trade Center, and the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on the South Boston waterfront are the three main convention centers in the city. The General Electric Corporation made the decision to relocate the company's worldwide headquarters from Fairfield, Connecticut, to Boston's Seaport District in January 2016. Among the reasons given were Boston's prominence in the higher education sector. Numerous well-known athletic and footwear brands, including Converse, New Balance, and Reebok, have their corporate offices in Boston. Just outside the city are the regional or corporate headquarters of Rockport, Puma, and Wolverine World Wide, Inc.
According to a 2019 rating of productivity lost due to traffic, drivers in the Boston area lose about 164 hours of productivity per year. These fees came to $2,300 per driver each year.
Population
The Massachusetts counties of Middlesex and Suffolk contain the city of Boston. It is the largest city in Massachusetts and the 23rd largest city in the United States as of 2020, with a population of 727,892. Boston's population has grown by 5.59% since the most recent census, which showed a population of 689,326 in 2020, and is now rising at a pace of 0.80% annually. Boston's population density per square mile is 15,058 and it spans over 90 miles.
The poverty rate of Boston is 19.41%, with an average household income of $107,608. The median monthly cost of rent in recent years has been, and the median value of a home is. Males in Boston are 32 years old on average, and females are 32.8 years old.
The largest and most populous city in Massachusetts is Boston. It ranks as the 23rd largest city in the US and is the largest city in New England. Boston, one of the oldest cities in the nation, was founded in 1630, and many significant American Revolutionary War events took place there. The city now serves as a major international hub for higher education and medicine.
One of the most densely populated areas in the United States is located in this 90 square mile city. In 2010, there were 618,000 people living in the city; as of today, that number is around pop.
In 2016, the population of Boston was projected to be 667,137, but the Greater Boston area is home to an estimated 4.7 million people, ranking it as the tenth largest metropolitan area in the US. Greater Boston, which serves as a commuting area, has an even bigger population of 8.1 million, ranking it as the sixth-largest CSA in the nation.
Top 2 News Websites
1. WCVB Channel 5 - Local Boston Breaking News and Live Alerts
Online, anytime, access the most recent news, weather, and sports for Boston. Keep up with the news with WCVB, Boston's top news source.
2. WHDH 7News - Boston News, Weather, Sports
From WHDH 7News, find Boston news on the weather, categories, regional news, and more.
Current City Mayor
With the support of numerous departments, agencies, and commissions, Mayor Michelle Wu and the City Council are in charge of the City of Boston.
The Boston mayor is Michelle Wu. She is the mother of two boys who attend Boston Public Schools, a commuter on the MBTA, and a fervent belief that we can overcome our most difficult problems by forging strong bonds with one another. To bring about big, systemic change and make Boston a city for everyone, Michelle is working in coalition as mayor.