Boston
Boston | |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Nickname(s): Bean Town, Title Town, others | |
| Motto(s): | |
| 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
|
| 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) September 17, 1630 (date of naming, New Style) |
| Incorporated (city) | March 19, 1822 |
| Named after | Boston, Lincolnshire |
| Government | |
| • Type | Strong mayor / Council |
| • Mayor | Michelle Wu (D) |
| • Council | Boston City Council |
| • Council President | Ruthzee Louijeune (D) |
| Area | |
| 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 | 46 ft (14 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| 675,647 | |
• Estimate (2024) | 673,458 |
| • Rank | 71st in North America 25th in the United States 1st in Massachusetts |
| • Density | 13,976.98/sq mi (5,396.51/km2) |
| • Urban | 4,382,009 (US: 10th) |
| • Urban density | 2,646.3/sq mi (1,021.8/km2) |
| • Metro | 4,941,632 (US: 10th) |
| Demonym | Bostonian |
| GDP | |
| • Metro | $610.486 billion (2023) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Codes | 53 ZIP Codes
|
| Area codes | 617 and 857 |
| FIPS code | 25-07000 |
| GNIS feature ID | 617565 |
| Website | boston |
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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 New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of 48.4 sq mi (125 km2) and a population of 675,647 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-largest city in the Northeastern United States after New York City and Philadelphia. The larger Greater Boston metropolitan statistical area has a population of 4.9 million as of 2023, making it the largest metropolitan area in New England and the eleventh-largest in the United States.
Boston was founded on Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by English Puritan settlers, who named the city after the market town of Boston, Lincolnshire in England. During the American Revolution and Revolutionary War, Boston was home to several seminal events, 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 played an important national role as a port, manufacturing hub, and education and culture center, and the city expanded significantly beyond the original peninsula by filling in land and annexing neighboring towns. Boston's many firsts include the nation's first public park (Boston Common, 1634), the first public school (Boston Latin School, 1635), and the first subway system (Tremont Street subway, 1897).
Boston later emerged as a global leader in higher education and research and is the largest biotechnology hub in the world as of 2023. The city is 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, entrepreneurship, and artificial intelligence. Boston's economy is led by finance, professional and business services, information technology, and government. Boston households provide the highest average rate of philanthropy in the nation as of 2013, and the city's businesses and institutions rank among the top in the nation for environmental sustainability and new investment.