Boston, Massachusetts had 672,973 residents as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025), ranking #26 nationally and #1 in Massachusetts. cost of living runs 8.3% above the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); a family of four needs roughly $169,740/yr to break even (2025 modeled). This profile draws on 13 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
Population shrank 0.8% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 678,617 → 2025: 672,973 (-0.8%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
678,617
April 1, 2020
2020
669,665
July 1, 2020
2021
659,884
July 1, 2021
2022
661,014
July 1, 2022
2023
667,453
July 1, 2023
2024
674,311
July 1, 2024
2025
672,973
July 1, 2025
Earlier history (2010–2019, prior Census vintage)
These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2019 release — a separate, earlier methodology. They’re shown here as historical context only; the 2010 and 2019 values aren’t directly comparable to the 2020–2025 series above.
Population grew 12.1% from 2010 to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
2010 base: 617,792 → 2019: 692,600 (+11.5%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2010 base
617,792
April 1, 2010
2010
621,048
July 1, 2010
2011
630,505
July 1, 2011
2012
642,955
July 1, 2012
2013
653,002
July 1, 2013
2014
662,855
July 1, 2014
2015
670,491
July 1, 2015
2016
679,848
July 1, 2016
2017
687,788
July 1, 2017
2018
691,147
July 1, 2018
2019
692,600
July 1, 2019
What's the median income in Boston?
Median household income is 25% above the U.S. median ($97,344 vs $77,719); 16.6% live in poverty — 4.1 points above the 12.5% U.S. rate.
Income and poverty estimates for Boston from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (window 2020–2024). Every figure is shown with its 90% margin of error (MOE). Cells where the ± margin exceeds half the estimate are flagged "low precision." See methodology §12.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median household income
97,344+25.3% vs US
±1,837
Per capita income
61,698+42.5% vs US
±1,006
Population in poverty
16.6%
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 141% above the U.S. median ($731,700 vs $303,400); median rent is 59% above ($2,147 vs $1,348); price-to-income ratio is 7.5×, making it 1.9× as cost-burdened as the typical U.S. city (3.9×).
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2024 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for Boston. Numbers are labeled at their native grain — place-grain when BLS publishes it, otherwise per-county. We do not compute population-weighted county averages. See methodology §13.
Measure
Value
Grain
Unemployment rate (annual avg)
3.9%
Boston (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
400,035
2024 annual avg
Worked from home
21.3%+52.2% vs US
share of workers 16+ commuting from home · U.S. median: 14% · ACS
County context — Boston sits in Suffolk County:
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Suffolk County
15.5%
$95,174
3.9%
Top industries by private employment — NAICS supersectors rolled up from Boston's linked county in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW, 2024 annual averages). See methodology §11.
#
Industry (NAICS supersector)
Private employment
Avg weekly wage
#1
Health care and social assistance (62)
153,540
$1,855 / wk
#2
Professional and technical services (54)
99,564
$3,999 / wk
#3
Finance and insurance (52)
67,187
$5,626 / wk
#4
Accommodation and food services (72)
64,238
$862 / wk
#5
Educational services (61)
44,579
$1,768 / wk
What workers earn in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro — top occupations by employment plus six curated benchmarks (registered nurse, software developer, elementary teacher, general manager, retail salesperson, truck driver). Wages are metro-area medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). See methodology §25.
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Home Health and Personal Care Aides
63,880
$39,790
$19.13
Fast Food and Counter Workers
57,320
$35,430
$17.04
Cashiers
45,260
$35,150
$16.90
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
44,220
$46,230
$22.23
Customer Service Representatives
41,150
$49,060
$23.59
Waiters and Waitresses
38,520
$37,040
$17.81
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
76,980
$129,850
$62.43
Registered Nurses · benchmark
66,440
$102,440
$49.25
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
62,540
$36,570
$17.58
Software Developers · benchmark
48,200
$154,240
$74.15
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
22,040
$86,600
—
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
All items run 8.3% above the U.S. average (RPP 108.3); rents run 48.4% above (RPP 148.4) — the metro's housing premium is the main driver.
BEA Regional Price Parity (all items)
RPP 108.3
+8.3% vs U.S. average · BEA 2024 · Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR
$2,941/mo
FY2026 · Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area
State income tax (top marginal rate)
9.00%
2 brackets · TY2025
Family-of-four monthly budget total
$14,145/mo
3BR rent + food + childcare + taxes + transport · federal sources
Single-adult monthly budget total
$7,708/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources
Local income tax
—
not applicable in Massachusetts · no modeled local income tax
Household budget figures are arithmetic floors using current federal sources at the grains documented in methodology. Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite score.
27.8% foreign-born (U.S. median 14%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (15.4% of residents 5+).
Where Boston's residents come from and what they speak at home, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. Foreign-born is the share of residents born outside the U.S. (any citizenship status); language-at-home is reported only for residents 5 and older.
Measure
Value
± margin / note
Foreign-born share
27.8%+98.8% vs US
share of residents born outside the U.S. · U.S. median: 14% · ACS B05002
Speak only English at home
64.4%
share of population 5+ · ACS C16001 line 2
Top non-English language at home
Spanish15.4%
most-spoken language other than English among residents 5+ · ACS C16001 collapsed buckets
Hottest month: July (82°F avg high). Coldest: January (21°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 47.8 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Boston from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See methodology §15 for the gridded vs. station source path.
Average monthly highs & lows · 30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020). Every number on this chart is an average.
bar = avg daily high → avg daily lowprecip in inches below each barprecip in millimeters below each bar
Natural-hazard exposure for Boston from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index (FEMA NRI March 2023). NRI is an expected-annual-loss composite calibrated on 1996–2019 historical losses, published at the U.S. county grain. See methodology §17.
County
NRI composite
Rating
Top hazards
Suffolk County
93.5
Relatively Moderate
Lightning · score 97.8 · Very High
Heat Wave · score 97.5 · Relatively High
Earthquake · score 95.0 · Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI March 2023 · methodology →
Internet & broadband.
16 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 62% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Boston from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of June 30, 2025. Every speed and provider count below is an ISP-reported advertised maximum — not measured throughput. Actual delivered speeds typically run 60–80% of advertised. See methodology §16.
Measure
Value
Note
Providers serving this city
16 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
13
offer fiber-to-the-premises somewhere in the BDC
Units with ≥100/20 Mbps fixed
100.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Locations with ≥100 Mbps upload
69.9%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
62.5%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
358,761
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of June 30, 2025 · methodology →
In-state context.
Boston sits at state rank #1 among 58 cities in Massachusetts. Nearby in the state ranking:
Boston is ranked #26 of 19,483 U.S. cities by 2025 population.
Just above in the profiled set: Las Vegas, NV · #25 · 679,817 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Detroit, MI · #27 · 649,095 residents.
Quick travel facts for Boston
Quick travel facts.
Nearest commercial airport
Boston Logan International Airport(BOS) ·
2 mi 3 km from city centroid
Best months to visit
May, Sep · months when the avg high sits in 65–80°F and precipitation is at or below the city's median monthly precip
Sources: elevation from USGS Elevation Point Query Service (3DEP) · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (FAA-aligned, type=large/medium, scheduled_service=yes) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Sources · provenance
Every listed dataset is used on this page.
The GEOID for Boston is 2507000. These are the official datasets used by this profile's main data modules; click "methodology" for inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2025 seam, or "source" for the raw publisher page.
