CITY
Boston
Massachusetts · 672,973 residents (2025 est.) · 48.3 sq mi
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Part of the Boston metro area
The short version
Boston is a city of 666,442 people in Massachusetts. Owners hold 36% of the housing stock. This is an unusually credentialed place: 55% of adults have a four-year degree. The typical home is worth $731,700, having roughly tripled since 2000. That puts it in the top 8% of US cities for household income. There are 13,787 people per square mile.
At a glance
Wealthier
median household income $97,344, above the US median
US median: $82,259
Younger
median age 33.3
US median: 38.9
More educated
55% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Less affordable
home values up 91%, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Unique to this place
What stands out about Boston
What changed most since 1990
- Adults with a bachelor's degree30.0% → 54.9% (+24.9 pts)US over the same years: +15.3 pts
- Median age30.4 → 33.3 (+2.9 years)US over the same years: +6.0 years
- Median household income (2024 dollars)$70,034 → $97,344 (+39%)US over the same years: +14%
Among the 128 cities and towns in the Boston metro
- 88th in household income$97,344
- 57th in share with a bachelor's degree54.9%
- 39th in home value$731,700
- 6th in diversity score89.5
Section 01
Population & growth
666,442
+13%since 2000
from 589,141 in 2000
672,973 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimate)
1990 – 2025
Land area
48.3 sq mi
Population, 1990 – 2024
2024666K
Age distribution, 2024
Under 54.6%(30,947)
5 to 93.7%(24,824)
10 to 144.3%(28,681)
15 to 197.3%(48,801)
20 to 2410%(66,384)
25 to 3423.2%(154,485)
35 to 4413.5%(89,789)
45 to 5410%(66,385)
55 to 6410.4%(69,222)
65 to 747.8%(51,984)
75 to 843.6%(24,098)
85 and over1.6%(10,842)
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Section 02
Income & economy
$97,344
+35%inflation adjusted, since 2000
from $39,629 in 2000
US average: $82,259
1990 – 2024
Households earning $100K+
58.9%
+23.3 ptssince 2009
from 35.6% in 2009
US average: 53.3%
Workforce by industry, 2024
Other services9%
Information7.8%
Public administration6.9%
Retail trade5.3%
Finance & insurance3.9%
Professional, scientific, technical3.4%
Wholesale trade3.1%
Arts, entertainment, food2.2%
Transportation & warehousing1.2%
Education & health services0.4%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing0.1%
Construction0.1%
Manufacturing0%
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Section 03
Housing
$731,700
+91%inflation adjusted, since 2000
from $210,100 in 2000
US average: $376,019
1990 – 2024
7.5
−3%since 2009
from 7.7 in 2009
1990 – 2024
Years of local income it takes to buy a local home, on a scale of about 0 to 15. Lower is more affordable.
78
Our index, 0 to 100. Higher means faster recent growth in incomes, home values, and college degrees.
Section 04
Race & ethnicity
2000
White, non-Hispanic49.5%(291,561)
Black23.8%(140,305)
Hispanic / Latino14.4%(85,089)
Asian7.5%(44,009)
Other0%
2024
White, non-Hispanic44.1%(293,690)
Black19.3%(128,487)
Hispanic / Latino19.3%(128,456)
Asian10.3%(68,354)
Other7.1%(47,455)
89
+8%since 2009
from 83 in 2009
1990 – 2024
Our index, 0 to 100. Higher means a more even mix of racial and ethnic groups.
Section 04 · Origins
Detailed origins & ancestry
Hispanic origin
Dominican6.1%(40,543)
Puerto Rican4.1%(27,420)
Central American3.6%(24,210)
South American2.6%(17,377)
Salvadoran1.7%(11,540)
Colombian1.5%(10,154)
Mexican1.2%(7,848)
Guatemalan0.9%(6,166)
Honduran0.5%(3,334)
Venezuelan0.3%(2,073)
Cuban0.3%(1,932)
Spaniard0.2%(1,641)
+ 10 more hispanic origin groups with data
Ecuadorian0.2%(1,610)
Costa Rican0.2%(1,598)
Peruvian0.2%(1,507)
Panamanian0.1%(778)
Chilean0.1%(776)
Argentine0.1%(542)
Nicaraguan0.1%(518)
Bolivian0%(237)
Uruguayan0%(182)
Paraguayan0%(173)
Asian origin
Chinese4.5%(30,293)
Vietnamese1.8%(11,763)
Asian Indian1.7%(11,420)
Korean0.7%(4,403)
Filipino0.3%(1,951)
Taiwanese0.2%(1,193)
Japanese0.2%(1,010)
Cambodian0.1%(900)
Bangladeshi0.1%(743)
Pakistani0.1%(738)
Thai0.1%(567)
Nepalese0.1%(357)
+ 10 more asian origin groups with data
Indonesian0%(245)
Burmese0%(242)
Sri Lankan0%(222)
Kazakh0%(192)
Laotian0%(86)
Uzbek0%(46)
Malaysian0%(41)
Hmong0%(12)
Mongolian0%(10)
Singaporean0%(4)
Pacific Islander origin
Samoan0.1%(376)
Native Hawaiian0%(302)
Tongan0%(75)
Chamorro0%(58)
Guamanian0%(41)
Fijian0%(29)
Ancestry
Irish13.1%(87,634)
Italian7.3%(48,804)
West Indian6.6%(43,679)
English5.6%(37,182)
German4.9%(32,945)
Subsaharan African4.1%(27,098)
Haitian3.1%(20,574)
Polish2.3%(15,107)
American2.2%(14,700)
Cape Verdean1.8%(12,141)
French1.7%(11,423)
Jamaican1.7%(11,260)
+ 51 more ancestry groups with data
Arab1.2%(7,736)
Scottish1.1%(7,618)
Russian1.1%(7,467)
French Canadian1.1%(7,450)
Portuguese0.9%(6,321)
Greek0.8%(5,420)
Swedish0.8%(5,186)
Trinidadian & Tobagonian0.7%(4,822)
Nigerian0.6%(4,244)
Barbadian0.5%(3,164)
Norwegian0.5%(3,082)
Brazilian0.4%(2,714)
Scotch-Irish0.4%(2,580)
Dutch0.4%(2,579)
Lebanese0.4%(2,542)
Ukrainian0.4%(2,484)
Ethiopian0.4%(2,336)
Canadian0.3%(2,272)
British0.3%(2,181)
Lithuanian0.3%(2,070)
Iranian0.3%(1,814)
Welsh0.3%(1,719)
Hungarian0.3%(1,692)
Armenian0.2%(1,334)
Swiss0.2%(1,305)
Czech0.2%(1,165)
Danish0.2%(1,151)
Moroccan0.2%(1,145)
Turkish0.2%(1,074)
Guyanese0.2%(1,034)
Somali0.2%(1,031)
Ghanaian0.1%(930)
Austrian0.1%(870)
Belgian0.1%(814)
Kenyan0.1%(773)
Egyptian0.1%(747)
Finnish0.1%(728)
Romanian0.1%(721)
Syrian0.1%(714)
Slovak0.1%(613)
Croatian0.1%(568)
Latvian0.1%(488)
Israeli0.1%(468)
Palestinian0.1%(409)
Australian0.1%(337)
Bulgarian0%(289)
Serbian0%(267)
Jordanian0%(244)
Iraqi0%(243)
Slovene0%(122)
Macedonian0%(88)
Section 05
Education
High school or higher
88.9%
+10.0 ptssince 2000
from 78.9% in 2000
US average: 89.6%
Section 06
Commute & transportation
Section 07
Work & employment
Women 20-64 in the labor force
81.5%
+2.0 ptssince 2020
from 79.5% in 2020
US average: 74.6%
Section 08
People & community
Computer in household
95.6%
+3.1 ptssince 2020
from 92.5% in 2020
US average: 95.5%
Marital status
Men 15+
Never married56.4%(155,367)
Married35.9%(98,972)
Widowed1.5%(4,143)
Divorced6.2%(16,995)
Women 15+
Never married55.2%(169,292)
Married30.6%(93,945)
Widowed5.5%(16,758)
Divorced8.7%(26,518)
SHARE WITHIN EACH SEX · POPULATION 15 AND OVER · 2024
Section 09
Health coverage
Direct-purchase
13.5%
+0.5 ptssince 2020
from 13.0% in 2020
US average: 13.8%
VA health care
0.8%
Unchangedsince 2020
from 0.8% in 2020
US average: 2.2%
Any private
70.0%
+1.7 ptssince 2020
from 68.3% in 2020
US average: 67.1%
Any public
36.0%
Unchangedsince 2020
from 36.0% in 2020
US average: 36.7%
Shares are "alone or in combination": a person with both Medicare and Medicaid counts in each, so categories overlap and do not sum to 100%.
Section 09 · Service history
Veterans
Veterans by period of service, 2024
Gulf War (2001 or later)33.3%(3,943)
Gulf War (1990s)14%(1,662)
Vietnam era26.9%(3,187)
Korean War4.5%(538)
World War II1.6%(192)
Share of the 11,833 veterans here. A veteran who served across eras counts in each, so shares can total more than 100%. Peacetime-only service is included in the total but not shown as an era.
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Over time
Boston, decade by decade
| Year | Population | Median household income | Median home value | Bachelor's degree+ | Diversity score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 574,283 | $70,034 | $384,251 | 30.0% | 72.4 |
| 2000 | 589,141 | $72,190 | $382,730 | 35.6% | 83.7 |
| 2010 | 617,594 | $72,913 | $568,523 | 42.5% | 86.2 |
| 2020 | 675,647 | $92,476 | $704,437 | 51.3% | 89.4 |
| 2024 | 666,442 | $97,344 | $731,700 | 54.9% | 89.5 |
Census years come from the decennial census and the latest year from the American Community Survey, so part of any change between those two rows can reflect the different surveys. Dollar figures are adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars; a figure ending in "+" was at the Census Bureau's reporting cap that year. The diversity score runs from 0 to 100; see how it's calculated.
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Frequently asked
How many people live in Boston, Massachusetts?
Boston, Massachusetts has about 666,442 residents according to the 2024 American Community Survey.
What is the median household income in Boston, Massachusetts?
The typical household in Boston, Massachusetts earns about $97,344 a year. Half of households make more than that, and half make less.
Is Boston, Massachusetts expensive?
In Boston, Massachusetts, the median home is worth about $731,700, and the typical rent is about $2,147 a month.
How educated are people in Boston, Massachusetts?
About 54.9% of adults age 25 and over in Boston, Massachusetts hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
What is the poverty rate in Boston, Massachusetts?
About 16.6% of people in Boston, Massachusetts live below the federal poverty line.
Has Boston, Massachusetts grown since 1990?
Yes, Boston, Massachusetts has grown since 1990. The population has added about 92,159 residents, a change of about 16 percent over that period.
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MassachusettsDATA: US CENSUS BUREAU ACS 5-YEAR + DECENNIAL CENSUS · UPDATED 2024