Greater Boston is the

metropolitan region A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metropolitan area usually ...

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

encompassing the municipality of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, the capital of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and the most populous city in New England, and its surrounding areas, home to 4,941,632. The most stringent definition of the region, used by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, consists of most of the eastern third of mainland Massachusetts, excluding the

Merrimack Valley The Merrimack Valley is a bi-state region along the Merrimack River in the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The Merrimack is one of the larger waterways in New England and has helped to define the livelihood and culture of those ...

and most of

Southeastern Massachusetts Southeastern Massachusetts is a region of Massachusetts located south of Boston and east of Rhode Island. It is commonly used to describe areas with cultural ties to both Boston and Providence, Rhode Island, and includes the cities of New Bedford ...

, though most definitions (including the U.S. Census definition) include much of these areas and portions of southern

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. While the city of Boston covers and has 675,647 residents as of the 2020 census, the urbanization has extended well into surrounding areas and the Combined Statistical Area (CSA in the rest of the document), which includes the

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it had a population of 115,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Manches ...

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

and

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

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 Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

and medical institutions. Greater Boston has been influential upon American

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

and

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

. The region and the state of Massachusetts are global leaders in

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

, and

maritime trade Maritime transport (or ocean transport) or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by watercraft has been widely used throughout recorded history, as it pro ...

. 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 The culture of the United States encompasses various social behaviors, institutions, and Social norm, norms, including forms of Languages of the United States, speech, American literature, literature, Music of the United States, music, Visual a ...

and history, particularly

American literature American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the British colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also ...

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

, and the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

was the site of the first colony in New England, founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims, passengers of the ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reac ...

''. In 1692, the town of Salem and surrounding areas experienced one of America's most infamous cases of

mass hysteria Mass psychogenic illness (MPI), also called mass sociogenic illness, mass psychogenic disorder, epidemic hysteria or mass hysteria, involves the spread of illness symptoms through a population where there is no infectious agent responsible for c ...

, the

Salem witch trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Not everyone wh ...

. In the late 18th century, Boston became known as the "Cradle of Liberty" for the agitation there that led to the

. 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 American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, the region was a center for the

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

, temperance, and transcendentalist movements. In 2004, Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to legally recognize

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

as a result of the decision of the

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the distinction of being the oldest continuously fu ...

in Boston. Many prominent American political dynasties have hailed from the Boston region, including the

Adams Adams may refer to: * For persons, see Adams (surname) Places United States *Adams, California *Adams, California, former name of Corte Madera, California * Adams, Decatur County, Indiana *Adams, Kentucky *Adams, Massachusetts, a New England to ...

and

Kennedy Kennedy may refer to: People * Kennedy (surname), including any of several people with that surname ** Kennedy family, a prominent American political family that includes: *** Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (1888–1969), American businessman, investor, ...

families.

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, founded in 1636, with the largest

financial endowment A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of Financial instrument, financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to Donor intent, the will of its fo ...

of any university, and whose

Law School A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

has spawned a contemporaneous majority of

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

Justices ''Justice'' (abbreviation: ame ''J.'' and other variations) is an honorific style and title traditionally used to describe a jurist who is currently serving or has served on a supreme court or some equal position. In some countries, a justice ma ...

Kendall Square Kendall Square is a neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The square itself is at the intersection of the Main Street and Broadway. It also refers to the broad business district east of Portland Street, northwest of the Charl ...

in Cambridge has been called "the most innovative square mile on the planet", in reference to the high concentration of

entrepreneurial Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entrepreneu ...

start-ups A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship includes all new businesses including self-employment and businesses that do not intend to ...

and quality of innovation which have emerged in the vicinity of the square since 2010. Both Harvard University and the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

, also in Cambridge, have been ranked among the most highly regarded

academic institution An academic institution is an educational institution dedicated to education and research, which grants academic degrees. See also academy and university. Types * Primary schools – (from French ''école primaire'') institutions where childre ...

s in the world.

Geography

Boundary definitions

Metropolitan Area

The most restrictive definition of the Greater Boston area is the region administered by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. The MAPC is a regional planning organization created by the

Massachusetts legislature The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. The name "General Court" is a holdover from the earliest days o ...

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 Interstate 495 (I-495) is the designation for the following five Interstate Highways in the United States, all of which are related to I-95: * The Capital Beltway, a beltway around Washington, D.C., running through Virginia, Maryland, and a sliver ...

. In 2013, the population of the MAPC district was 3.2 million, which was 48% of the total population of Massachusetts, in an area of , of which 39% is forested and an additional 11% is water, wetland, or other open space. The cities and towns included in this definition are:

New England City and Town Area

Two definitions are used by the

United States Census The United States census (plural censuses or census) is a census that is legally mandated by the Constitution of the United States. It takes place every ten years. The first census after the American Revolution was taken in 1790 United States ce ...

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. 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: * 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

communities, parts of southern

(northward to

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

and

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria ** Hampton railway station, Melbour ...

, and the

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

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: Downtown_Providence_Rhode_Island_2008

*Connecticut **

Windham County, Connecticut Windham County ( ) is one of the eight counties in the U.S. state of Connecticut, located in its northeastern corner. As of the 2020 census, the population was 116,418, making it the least populous county in Connecticut. It forms the core o ...

*Massachusetts **

Barnstable County, Massachusetts Barnstable County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 228,996. The county seat is Barnstable, Massachusetts, Barnstable. The county consists ...

Bristol County, Massachusetts Bristol County is a county in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 579,200. The shire town is Taunton. Some governmental functions are performed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, othe ...

Essex County, Massachusetts Essex County is a County (United States), county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the total population was 809,829, making it the third-most populous county in the stat ...

Middlesex County, Massachusetts Middlesex County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,632,002, making it the most populous county in both Massachusetts and New England and the 22nd most populou ...

Norfolk County, Massachusetts Norfolk County ( ) is located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 census, the population was around 725,981. Its county seat is Dedham. The county was named after the English county of the same name. Two towns, Cohasset and B ...

Plymouth County, Massachusetts Plymouth County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, south of Boston. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 530,819. Its county seats are Plymouth, Massachusetts, Plymouth and ...

Suffolk County, Massachusetts Suffolk County ( ) is located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 797,936, making it the fourth-most populous county in Massachusetts. The county comprises the cities of Boston ...

Worcester County, Massachusetts Worcester County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 862,111, making it the second-most populous county in Massachusetts. Being 1,510.6 ...

*New Hampshire **

Belknap County, New Hampshire Belknap County () is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 63,705. The county seat is Laconia, New Hampshire, Laconia. It is located in New Hamp ...

Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Hillsborough County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 422,937, almost one-third the population of the entire state. Its c ...

Merrimack County, New Hampshire Merrimack County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population was 153,808, making it the third most populous county in New Hampshire. Its county seat ...

Rockingham County, New Hampshire Rockingham County is a county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 census, the population was 314,176, making it New Hampshire's second-most populous county. The county seat is Brentwood. Rockingham County is part of the Boston ...

Strafford County, New Hampshire Strafford County is a county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 census, the population was 130,889. Its county seat is Dover. Strafford County was one of the five original counties identified for New Hampshire in 1769. It was n ...

*Rhode Island **

Bristol County, Rhode Island Bristol County is a county located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the population was 50,793, making it the least populous county in Rhode Island. In terms of land area, it is the third-smallest county in the United ...

Kent County, Rhode Island Kent County is a county located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the population was 170,363, making it the second-most populous county in Rhode Island. The county was formed in 1750 from the southern third of Provide ...

Newport County, Rhode Island Newport County is one of five counties located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the population was 85,643. It is also one of the seven regions of Rhode Island. The county was created in 1703. Like all of the counties i ...

Providence County, Rhode Island Providence County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 660,741, or 60.2% of the state's population. Providence County contains the city of Providence, the state cap ...

Washington County, Rhode Island Washington County, known locally as South County, is a county located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,839. Rhode Island counties have no governmental functions other than as court administrat ...

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

Subregions

*Massachusetts **

Central Massachusetts Central Massachusetts is the geographically central region of Massachusetts. Though definitions vary, most include all of Worcester County and the northwest corner of Middlesex County. Worcester, the largest city in the area, and the seat of Wor ...

***

Montachusett-North County The Montachusett Region (also known as North County) is a region comprising several cities and towns in the north-central area of Massachusetts surrounding Fitchburg. As it has no legal standing in state government, definitions of the region vary ...

*** South County ***

Blackstone River Valley The Blackstone Valley or Blackstone River Valley is a region of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It was a major factor in the American Industrial Revolution. It makes up part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor and Blackst ...

*** North Shore ***

Cape Ann Cape Ann is a rocky peninsula in northeastern Massachusetts on the Atlantic Ocean. It is about northeast of Boston and marks the northern limit of Massachusetts Bay. Cape Ann includes the city of Gloucester and the towns of Essex, Man ...

MetroWest MetroWest is a cluster of cities and towns lying west of Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financia ...

***

** South Coast ** South Shore *New Hampshire ** Lakes Region **

Seacoast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

*Rhode Island **

Blackstone Valley The Blackstone Valley or Blackstone River Valley is a region of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It was a major factor in the American Industrial Revolution. It makes up part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor and Natio ...

East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Wi ...

Climate

The Boston area has

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

s (''Dfa'' and ''Dfb'' under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system), with high

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...

and

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

year-round.

Demographics

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 2020 PRRI Atlas found that 35% of the Boston metro area identified as Protestant while 26% identified as Catholic. The City of Boston also has one of the largest

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

populations per capita. It ranks fifth of all major cities in the country (behind

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, and slightly behind

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, and

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

), with 12.3% of the city identifying as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. The 40 most diverse Census tracts in the Boston CSA: The 40 census tracts in the Boston CSA with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Hispanic or Latino: Census tracts in the Boston CSA with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Black American: Census tracts in the Boston CSA with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Asian American: Census tracts in the Boston CSA with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Irish American: Census tracts in the Boston CSA with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Italian American: Census tracts in the Boston CSA with the highest percentage of residents who identify as Portuguese American: Census tracts in the Boston CSA with French or French Canadian listed as first ancestry:

Largest cities and towns

Cities and towns with a population over 50,000 as of the 2020 census include:

Education

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 The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, or simply the Carnegie Classification, is a framework for classifying colleges and universities in the United States. It was created in 1970 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Ad ...

. This is, by far, the highest number of such institutions in a single Metropolitan Statistical Area in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Economy

Major companies

References: *

Abbott Laboratories Abbott Laboratories is an American multinational medical devices and health care company with headquarters in Abbott Park, Illinois, in the United States. The company was founded by Chicago physician Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 to formulate k ...

, in

(pharmaceutical laboratory) *

Advanced Cell Technology Astellas Institute for Regenerative Medicine is a subsidiary of Astellas Pharma located in Marlborough, Massachusetts, US, developing stem cell therapies with a focus on diseases that cause blindness. It was formed in 1994 as a company named ...

, in Worcester (research laboratory) *

AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California and maintains significant operations in Austin, Texas. AMD is a hardware and fabless company that de ...

, in Boxborough *

Analog Devices Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI), also known simply as Analog, is an American multinational corporation, multinational semiconductor company specializing in data conversion, signal processing, and power management technology, headquartered in Wilming ...

, in Norwood *

Atlantic Broadband Breezeline (previously Atlantic Broadband) is the trade name for the United States operations of Cogeco Communications, constituting the 8th largest cable operator in the United States, based on the number of television service customers served. ...

, in Quincy *

Atlantic Tele-Network ATN International, Inc. (ATN) formerly known as Atlantic Tele-Network, Inc., is a publicly traded telecommunications company that is headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts. It operates digital wireless, wireline, and both terrestrial and submari ...

, in Beverly * Avid Technology, Inc, in Burlington (headquarters) *

Azimuth Systems Azimuth Systems was a privately held company located near Boston, Massachusetts and in 2016, the company was acquired by Anritsu. The company's primary products include wireless channel emulators and wireless test equipment for LTE, WiMAX, 2G/3G c ...

, in Acton *

Bain & Company Bain & Company is an American management consulting company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm provides advice to public, private, and nonprofit organizations. One of the Big Three (management consultancies), Big Three management co ...

, in Boston (headquarters) *

Bain Capital Bain Capital, LP is an American Investment company, private investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, with around $185 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, p ...

, in Boston (headquarters) * Bertucci's Corporation, in Northborough (headquarters) * BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc., in

Westborough Westborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,567 at the 2020 census, in over 7,000 households. Incorporated in 1717, the town is governed under the New England open town meeting system, headed ...

(headquarters) *

Bose Corporation Bose Corporation () is an American manufacturing company that predominantly sells audio equipment. The company was established by Amar Bose in 1964 and is based in Framingham, Massachusetts. It is best known for its Home audio, home audio syste ...

, in

Framingham Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a popula ...

(headquarters) * Boston Properties, Inc., in Boston (headquarters) * Boston Scientific Corporation, in Marlborough (headquarters) *

Charles River Laboratories Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. is an American pharmaceutical company specializing in preclinical and clinical laboratory, gene therapy and cell therapy services and supplies for the pharmaceutical, medical device and biotechno ...

, in Wilmington (headquarters) *

Cisco Systems Cisco Systems, Inc. (using the trademark Cisco) is an American multinational corporation, multinational digital communications technology conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, m ...

, in Boxborough * David Clark Company, in Worcester (manufacturer of space suits) *

Diebold Diebold Nixdorf, Incorporated is an American multinational financial and retail technology company that specializes in the sale, manufacture, installation, and service of self-service transaction systems (such as ATMs and currency processing ...

, in Marlborough (regional headquarters) *

Dell Technologies Dell Technologies Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Round Rock, Texas. It was formed as a result of the September 2016 merger of Dell and EMC Corporation. Dell Technologies ranked 48th on the 2024 Fortune ...

, in Hopkinton (headquarters) *

Evergreen Solar Evergreen Solar, Inc. was "a fully integrated manufacturer of solar panels producing wafers, cells and panels." On August 15, 2011, the company filed for Chapter 11 reorganization with the intent of selling its assets.Greentechmedia.Evergreen Fil ...

, in Marlborough (headquarters) *

Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California ...

, in Marlborough (regional headquarters) *

Schneider Electric Schneider Electric SE is a French multinational corporation that specializes in digital automation and energy management. Registered as a Societas Europaea, Schneider Electric is a ''Fortune'' Global 500 company, publicly traded on the Euronex ...

, in

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was Settler, settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''Encyclopedia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed. ...

HourlyNerd Catalant Technologies, Inc., formerly HourlyNerd, is a freelance marketplace that uses a machine-learning algorithm to recommend independent consultants whose skills and expertise are needed for client projects. More than 70,000 independent consu ...

, in Boston *

Innerscope Research Innerscope Research was an integrated consumer neuroscience research firm that was acquired by Nielsen in 2015. Founded in 2006, Innerscope was based in Boston, Massachusetts with an office in New York City. Using applied neuroscience tools such ...

, in Boston (headquarters) *

Intel Corporation Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer components such as central processing ...

, in

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...

Kronos Incorporated Kronos Incorporated was an American multinational workforce management and human capital management cloud provider headquartered in Lowell, Massachusetts, United States, which employed more than 6,000 people worldwide. In February 2020, the compa ...

, in

Chelmsford, Massachusetts Chelmsford () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Chelmsford was incorporated in May 1655 by an act of the Massachusetts General Court. When Chelmsford was incorporated, its local economy was fueled by lumber mills, ...

(headquarters) *

Marshalls Marshalls, Inc. is an American chain of discount store, off-price department stores owned by TJX Companies. Marshalls has over 1,000 American stores, including larger stores named Marshalls Mega Store (stores operating with HomeGoods combined), ...

, Inc, in Framingham (headquarters) *

The MathWorks The MathWorks, Inc. is an American privately held corporation that specializes in mathematical computing software. Its major products include MATLAB and Simulink, which support data analysis and simulation. History MATLAB was created in the 1 ...

, in Natick *

MITRE Corporation The Mitre Corporation (stylized as The MITRE Corporation and MITRE) is an American not-for-profit organization with dual headquarters in Bedford, Massachusetts, and McLean, Virginia. It manages federally funded research and development centers ...

, in Bedford (headquarters) *

National Amusements National Amusements, Inc. is an American privately owned movie theater operator and mass media holding company incorporated in Maryland and based in Norwood, Massachusetts. The company owned 69 theaters and 667 screens throughout the United Stat ...

, in Norwood (headquarters) *

Novartis Novartis AG is a Swiss multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical company, pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and was the eighth largest by re ...

, in

(US headquarters) *

OutStart, Inc. OutStart, Inc. is a provider of social business software and learning systems. OutStart’s social business software and learning systems automate the development, maintenance, and delivery of modular and personalized training. According to the ...

, in Boston (headquarters) * Philips Electronics North America, in Andover (regional headquarters) *

Philips Healthcare Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

, in

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

(global headquarters) and Framingham *

Red Hat Red Hat, Inc. (formerly Red Hat Software, Inc.) is an American software company that provides open source software products to enterprises and is a subsidiary of IBM. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North ...

, in Westford (engineering headquarters) *

Reed & Barton Reed & Barton was a prominent American silversmith manufacturer based in the city of Taunton, Massachusetts, operating between 1824 and 2015. Its products include sterling silver and silverplate flatware. The company produced many varieties of b ...

(factory and headquarters) *

Saint-Gobain Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A. () is a French multinational corporation, founded in 1665 in Paris as the Manufacture royale de glaces de miroirs, and today headquartered on the outskirts of Paris, at La Défense and in Courbevoie. Originally a ...

, in Worcester * Sepracor, Inc., in Marlborough (headquarters) * Staples, Inc., in

(headquarters) *

Stop & Shop The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company, known as Stop & Shop, is an American regional chain of supermarkets located in the northeastern United States. From its beginnings in 1892 as a small grocery store, it has grown to include a 365-store chain ...

, in Quincy (headquarters) * TJX Corporation, in Framingham (headquarters) * UniFirst, in Wilmington (headquarters) *

WB Mason W. B. Mason is an American business products company headquartered in Brockton, Massachusetts. The company is known for its colorful delivery vehicles. The company was founded in 1898 and started out selling rubber stamps and stencils for the Br ...

, in Brockton (headquarters) *

Wyman-Gordon Wyman-Gordon is a company that designs and manufactures complex metal components. Founded in 1883 as a manufacturer of crankshafts for looms, it has a long history of making forged metal components, particularly for the aerospace industry. Wyman- ...

, in Grafton (complex metal components and products) *

Akamai Technologies Akamai Technologies, Inc. is an American company specialized in content delivery networkJ. Dilley, B. Maggs, J. Parikh, H. Prokop, R. Sitaraman, and B. Weihl. (CDN), cybersecurity, DDoS mitigation, and cloud services. It is headquartered in ...

, in

(headquarters) *

Athenahealth Athenahealth, Inc. is a privately held American company that provides network-enabled services for healthcare and point-of-care mobile apps in the United States. The company was founded in 1997 in San Diego and is now headquartered in Boston, ...

, in

Watertown, Massachusetts Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Sq ...

(headquarters) *

AstraZeneca AstraZeneca plc () (AZ) is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, UK. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includi ...

, in Waltham (R&D) *

BBN Technologies Raytheon BBN (originally Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Inc.) is an American research and development company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1966, the Franklin Institute awarded the firm the Frank P. Brown Medal, in 1999 BBN received the ...

, in Cambridge (headquarters) * Biocell Center, in Medford (North American headquarters) *

Biogen Idec Biogen Inc. is an American multinational biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States specializing in the discovery, development, and delivery of the treatment of neurological diseases to patients worldwide. Biogen ope ...

, in

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...

(North American headquarters) *

Carl Zeiss SMT Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH comprises the Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology business group of ZEISS and develops and produces equipment for the manufacture of microchips. The company is majority owned by Carl Zeiss AG, with a 24.9% minority stake ...

, in Peabody (North American headquarters) *

Constant Contact Constant Contact, Inc. is an online marketing company, headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, with additional offices in Boston, Massachusetts; Loveland, Colorado; Gainesville, Florida; Los Angeles, California; Brisbane, Australia; Waterloo, ...

, in Waltham *

Dunkin' Brands Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. was an American restaurant holding company that ran three chains of fast food, fast-food restaurants: Dunkin' Donuts, Mister Donut, and Baskin-Robbins. It was headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts. It was acquired by In ...

, in

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

(headquarters) *

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

, in Cambridge *

General Electric Aviation General Electric Company, doing business as GE Aerospace, is an American aircraft engine supplier that is headquartered in Evendale, Ohio, outside Cincinnati. It is the legal successor to the original General Electric Company founded in 1892, wh ...

, in Lynn * Global Partners, in Waltham (headquarters) * Google Inc., in Cambridge *

Haemonetics Haemonetics Corporation is a global provider of blood and plasma supplies and services. The company was founded in Natick, Massachusetts by Dr. Allen (Jack) Latham in the 1970s. Today, the company has expanded and has offices located in 16 cou ...

, in Braintree *

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

, in Waltham, Cambridge and Littleton * InterSystems Corporation, in Cambridge (headquarters) * iRobot Corporation, in Burlington (headquarters) *

Keurig Keurig () is a beverage brewing system for home and commercial use. The North American company Keurig Dr Pepper manufactures the machines. The main Keurig products are K-Cup pods, which are single-serve coffee containers; other beverage pods; an ...

, in Burlington (headquarters) * Lionbridge, in Waltham (US headquarters) *

Meditech Medical Information Technology, Inc., shortened to Meditech, is a privately held Massachusetts-based software and service company that develops and sells information systems for healthcare organizations. History In 1969, Neil Pappalardo began d ...

, in Westwood (headquarters) *

Microsoft Corporation Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

, in Cambridge *

Millennium Pharmaceuticals Takeda Oncology (originally Millennium Pharmaceuticals) is a biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is a fully owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical. Takeda Oncology's research, development and commercialization ac ...

, in Cambridge *

Moderna Moderna, Inc. ( ) is an American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that focuses on RNA therapeutics, primarily mRNA vaccines. These vaccines use a copy of a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to carry inst ...

, in Cambridge (headquarters) *

Motorola Solutions, Inc. Motorola Solutions, Inc. is an American technology, communications, and security company, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It is the legal successor of Motorola, Inc., following the spinoff of the mobile phone division into Motorola Mobilit ...

, in

Somerville Somerville may refer to: Places Australia *Somerville, Victoria, a town **Somerville railway station * Somerville, Western Australia, a suburb of Kalgoorlie, Australia New Zealand * Somerville, New Zealand, a suburb of Manukau City, New Zea ...

, in Dedham (headquarters) * National Grid, in Waltham (US headquarters) * NetApp Inc, in Waltham *

Nokia Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...

, in Burlington * Novartis AG, Inc, in Cambridge (research headquarters) *

Novell, Inc. Novell, Inc. () was an American software and services company headquartered in Provo, Utah, that existed from 1980 until 2014. Its most significant product was the multi-platform network operating system known as NetWare. Novell technolog ...

, in Waltham *

Nuance Communications Nuance Communications, Inc. is an American multinational computer software technology corporation, headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, that markets speech recognition and artificial intelligence software. Nuance merged with its comp ...

, in Burlington *

Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational computer technology company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Co-founded in 1977 in Santa Clara, California, by Larry Ellison, who remains executive chairman, Oracle was ...

in Burlington *

Osram Sylvania Osram Sylvania Inc. is the North American operation of lighting manufacturer Osram. It was established in January 1993, with the acquisition of GTE's Sylvania lighting division by Osram GmbH. In 2016, Osram spun off its general lighting business ...

in Danvers (headquarters) *

Philips Lighting Signify N.V., formerly known as Philips Lighting N.V., is a Dutch multinational lighting corporation formed in 2016 as a result of the spin-off of the lighting division of Philips, by means of an IPO. The company manufactures electric lights, li ...

in Burlington *

Progress Software Progress Software Corporation is an American public company that produces software for creating and deploying business applications. Founded in Burlington, Massachusetts with offices in 16 countries, the company posted revenues of $531.3 mill ...

in Bedford, Massachusetts, Bedford (headquarters) * Raytheon, in Waltham (headquarters) * SharkNinja, in Needham, Massachusetts, Needham (headquarters) * SunSetter Awnings, SunSetter Products, LP, in Malden, Massachusetts, Malden (headquarters) * Teradyne, in North Reading, Massachusetts, North Reading (headquarters) * Thermo Fisher Scientific, in Waltham (headquarters) * TripAdvisor, TripAdvisor, LLC, in Needham, Massachusetts, Needham (headquarters) * Twitter, in Cambridge * Vistaprint, in Lexington, Massachusetts, Lexington (North American headquarters) * Wolverine World Wide, in Waltham, Massachusetts (headquarters for Keds, Saucony, Sperry Top-Sider, and Stride Rite Corporation, Stride Rite) * American Tower Corporation, American Tower (headquarters) * Au Bon Pain (headquarters) *

(headquarters) * Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (headquarters) * Boston Consulting Group (headquarters) * Converse (shoe company), Converse (headquarters) * Fidelity Investments (headquarters) * General Electric (headquarters) * The Gillette Company, now owned by Procter & Gamble (headquarters) * Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (headquarters) * John Hancock Insurance, 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, New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. (headquarters) * Partners HealthCare (moving to Assembly Row, Somerville) * PTC (software company), PTC (headquarters) * Puma (brand), 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

Interstates

* * * * * * * * * *

U.S. Routes

* * * * *

State Highways

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Bridges and tunnels

* Boston University Bridge, carrying Route 2 *Callahan Tunnel, carrying Massachusetts Route 1A, Route 1A Northbound * Charles M. Braga Jr. Memorial Bridge, carrying Interstate 195 (Rhode Island–Massachusetts), Interstate 195 * Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge, carrying Rhode Island Route 138, Route 138 * Fore River Bridge, carrying Massachusetts Route 3A *Harvard Bridge, carrying List of highways numbered 2A, Route 2A *Longfellow Bridge, carrying Massachusetts Route 3, US Route 3, and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, MBTA Red Line (MBTA), Red Line *Charlestown Bridge, North Washington Street Bridge, carrying Route 99 * Sumner Tunnel, carrying Massachusetts Route 1A, Route 1A Southbound * Ted Williams Tunnel, carrying Interstate 90, I-90 * Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnel, carrying Interstate 93, I-93 and Routes 1 and 3 concurrently * Tobin Bridge, carrying US Route 1, Route 1 * Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge, Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, carrying Interstate 93, US Route 1, Route 1 and Massachusetts Route 3, Route 3 concurrently

Airports

* Logan International Airport in Boston, northeast of downtown Boston, New England's largest transportation center * Manchester–Boston Regional Airport in

* T. F. Green Airport in Warwick, Rhode Island * Hanscom Field in Bedford, Massachusetts, Bedford * Norwood Memorial Airport * Worcester Regional Airport * Beverly Regional Airport * Lawrence Municipal Airport (Massachusetts), Lawrence Municipal Airport

Rail and bus

MBTA Commuter Rail and funding district map

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is the primary operator of transit in Greater Boston. It operates the MBTA subway system and the MBTA bus network in Boston and inner suburbs, as well as the MBTA Commuter Rail system and the MBTA boat network serving Greater Boston. Other public transit includes Amtrak intercity rail service, Logan Express service to Logan International Airport, and privately-operated intercity bus and ferry systems. A number of regional transit authorities operate local bus service: * 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

Annual events in Boston, 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.

Geography

Boundary definitions

Metropolitan Area

New England City and Town Area

Combined Statistical Area

Subregions

Climate

Demographics

Largest cities and towns

Education

Economy

Major companies

Transportation

Interstates

U.S. Routes

State Highways

Bridges and tunnels

Airports

Rail and bus

Ocean transportation

Sports

Notes

References

Further reading