Boston is a very large coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 650,706 people and 206 associated neighborhoods, Boston is the largest community in Massachusetts. Boston has a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country. Housing costs in Boston are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in Massachusetts.Boston is a decidedly white-collar city, with fully 90.42% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Boston is a city of professionals, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Boston who work in management occupations (12.46%), office and administrative support (9.64%), and business and financial occupations (9.30%). Also of interest is that Boston has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 16.10% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. In addition, Boston is a major college town that has a very high percentage of its residents over 18 years old who are college students. Naturally, collegiate life has a major influence on the local Boston culture, lifestyle and music scene. In fact, Boston is one of only a few big cities that are also major college towns. The combination of big city status and thousands of college students gives Boston on one hand, a sophisticated style, while on the other also provides a youthful feel and lots of diversions and entertainment for students. Believe it or not, Boston is one of the biggest "college towns" in America, generating lift to the economy of the entire region, and issuing forth thousands of newly-minted college students every spring, powering the innovation economy, the arts, and a lively club scene. One of the nice things about Boston is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities. In Boston, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 31.99 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit. In addition, the city is also quite pedestrian-friendly, because many neighborhoods are very dense and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot. Boston is a big city, and with that comes lots of benefits. One benefit is that most big cities have public transit, but Boston really shines when it comes to the extensiveness and use of its public transit system. More than most large American cities, Boston citizens use public transit daily to get to and from work. And while there are transportation options, most people in Boston ride the subway. Whereas in some cities one is destined to sit in traffic every morning to get to work and every evening to get home, in Boston a lot leave their cars at home (if they even choose to own one), and hop a ride on the subway.Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Boston. 53.37% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%. The per capita income in Boston in 2022 was $55,949, which is middle income relative to Massachusetts, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $223,796 for a family of four. However, Boston contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Boston is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Boston home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Boston residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Boston also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 19.57% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Boston include Irish, Italian, English, German, and Haitian. Foreign born people are also an important part of Boston's cultural character, accounting for 28.06% of the city’s population. The most common language spoken in Boston is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and French.
