Global InformationBoston information
Boston | |
|---|---|
State capital city | |
Downtown from Boston Harbor Acorn Street on Beacon Hill Old State House Massachusetts State House Fenway Park during a Boston Red Sox game Back Bay from the Charles River | |
 Flag  Seal  Coat of arms  Wordmark | |
| Nickname(s): Bean Town, Title Town, others | |
| Motto(s): Sicut patribus sit Deus nobis (Latin) 'As God was with our fathers, so may He be with us' | |
    | |
  Boston  Boston  Boston  Boston | |
| Coordinates: 42°21′37″N 71°3′28″W / 42.36028°N 71.05778°W | |
| Country | United States |
| Region | New England |
| State | Massachusetts |
| County | Suffolk[1]
|
| Historic countries | Kingdom of England Commonwealth of England Kingdom of Great Britain |
| Historic colonies | Massachusetts Bay Colony, Dominion of New England, Province of Massachusetts Bay |
| Settled | 1625 |
| Incorporated (town) | September 7, 1630 (date of naming, Old Style)[a] |
| Incorporated (city) | March 19, 1822 |
| Named for | Boston, Lincolnshire |
| Government | |
| • Type | Strong mayor / Council |
| • Mayor | Michelle Wu (D) |
| • Council | Boston City Council |
| • Council President | Ruthzee Louijeune (D) |
| Area [2] | |
| • State capital city | 89.61 sq mi (232.10 km2) |
| • Land | 48.34 sq mi (125.20 km2) |
| • Water | 41.27 sq mi (106.90 km2) |
| • Urban | 1,655.9 sq mi (4,288.7 km2) |
| • Metro | 4,500 sq mi (11,700 km2) |
| • CSA | 10,600 sq mi (27,600 km2) |
| Elevation [3] | 46 ft (14 m) |
| Population (2020)[4] | |
| • State capital city | 675,647 |
| • Estimate (2021)[4] | 654,776 |
| • Rank | 66th in North America 24th in the United States 1st in Massachusetts |
| • Density | 13,976.98/sq mi (5,396.51/km2) |
| • Urban [5] | 4,382,009 (US: 10th) |
| • Urban density | 2,646.3/sq mi (1,021.8/km2) |
| • Metro [6] | 4,941,632 (US: 10th) |
| Demonym | Bostonian |
| GDP [7] | |
| • Boston (MSA) | $571.6 billion (2022) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Codes | 53 ZIP Codes[8]
|
| Area codes | 617 and 857 |
| FIPS code | 25-07000 |
| GNIS feature ID | 617565 |
| Website | boston |
Boston (US: /ˈbɔːstən/[9]), officially the City of Boston, is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of 48.4 sq mi (125 km2)[10] and a population of 675,647 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-largest city in the Northeast after New York City and Philadelphia.[4] The Greater Boston metropolitan statistical area, including and surrounding the city, is the largest in New England and eleventh-largest in the country.[11][12][13]
Boston was founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers. The city was named after Boston, Lincolnshire, England.[14][15]
During the American Revolution, Boston was home to several events that proved central to the revolution and subsequent Revolutionary War, including the Boston Massacre (1770), the Boston Tea Party (1773), Paul Revere's Midnight Ride (1775), the Battle of Bunker Hill (1775), and the Siege of Boston (1775-1776). Following American independence from Great Britain, the city continued to play an important role as a port, manufacturing hub, and center for education and culture.[16][17]
The city expanded significantly beyond the original peninsula through filling in land and annexing neighboring towns. It now attracts many tourists, with Faneuil Hall alone drawing more than 20 million visitors per year.[18] Boston's many firsts include the United States' first public park (Boston Common, 1634),[19] the first public school (Boston Latin School, 1635),[20] and the first subway system (Tremont Street subway, 1897).[21]
Since the nation's founding, Boston has been a national leader in higher education and research. Boston University and Northeastern University are both located within the city. Two of the world's most prestigious and consistently highly-ranked universities, Harvard University, the nation's oldest university, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, are both located in neighboring Cambridge, Massachusetts.[22]
Boston also has emerged as the largest biotechnology hub in the world.[23] The city is also a national leader in scientific research, law, medicine, engineering, and business. With nearly 5,000 startup companies, the city is considered a global pioneer in innovation and entrepreneurship,[24][25][26] and more recently in artificial intelligence.[27] Boston's economy also includes finance,[28] professional and business services, information technology, and government activities.[29] Households in the city claim the highest average rate of philanthropy in the United States.[30] Furthermore, Boston's businesses and institutions rank among the top in the country overall for environmental sustainability and new investment.[31]
- ^ "List of intact or abandoned Massachusetts county governments". sec.state.ma.us. Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Archived from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
- ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- ^ "Geographic Names Information System". edits.nationalmap.gov. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
- ^ a b c "QuickFacts: Boston city, Massachusetts". census.gov. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
- ^ "List of 2020 Census Urban Areas". census.gov. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
- ^ "2020 Population and Housing State Data". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 24, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- ^ "Total Real Gross Domestic Product for Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH (MSA)". fred.stlouisfed.org.
- ^ "ZIP Code Lookup – Search By City". United States Postal Service. Archived from the original on September 3, 2007. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
- ^ UK: /ˈbɒstən/ (Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.)
- ^ "Boston by the Numbers: Land Area and Use". Boston Redevelopment Authority. Archived from the original on August 25, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2016 Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
- ^ "OMB Bulletin No. 20-01: Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas" (PDF). United States Office of Management and Budget. March 6, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 20, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2016 Population Estimates Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT CSA". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
- ^ Banner, David. "Boston History – The History of Boston, Massachusetts". SearchBoston. Archived from the original on March 15, 2009. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
- ^ Kennedy 1994, pp. 11–12.
- ^ "About Boston". City of Boston. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
- ^ Morris 2005, p. 8.
- ^ "Top 25 Most Visited Tourist Destinations in America". The Travelers Zone. May 10, 2008. Archived from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
- ^ "Boston Common | The Freedom Trail". www.thefreedomtrail.org. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- ^ "BPS at a Glance". Boston Public Schools. March 14, 2007. Archived from the original on April 3, 2007. Retrieved April 28, 2007.
- ^ Hull 2011, p. 42.
- ^ "World Reputation Rankings". April 21, 2016. Archived from the original on June 12, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
- ^ "Boston is Now the Largest Biotech Hub in the World". EPM Scientific. February 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- ^ "Venture Investment – Regional Aggregate Data". National Venture Capital Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
- ^ Kirsner, Scott (July 20, 2010). "Boston is #1 ... But will we hold on to the top spot? – Innovation Economy". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
- ^ Innovation that Matters 2016 (Report). US Chamber of Commerce. 2016. Archived from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
- ^ "Why Boston Will Be the Star of The AI Revolution". VentureFizz. October 24, 2017. Retrieved 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.
- ^ [1] Archived August 5, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Accessed October 7, 2018.
- ^ "The Boston Economy in 2010" (PDF). Boston Redevelopment Authority. January 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 30, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
- ^ "Transfer of Wealth in Boston" (PDF). The Boston Foundation. March 2013. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
- ^ "Boston Ranked Most Energy-Efficient City in the US". City Government of Boston. September 18, 2013. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
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