Boston is a very large coastal city (ie. on the ocean or tidally-influenced rivers) located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 589,141 people and 165 constituent neighborhoods, Boston is the largest community in Massachusetts. Much of the housing stock in Boston was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country.

Boston is a decidedly white-collar city, with fully 86.72% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Boston is a city of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Boston who work in office and administrative support jobs (16.17%), management occupations (9.89%), and sales jobs (9.44%).

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.

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.

Not only is Boston a city with many college students, but it also retains many recent graduates who are looking to start new careers, creating a very large population of people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile. This makes Boston a good place to live for young professionals. With so many people in this demographic, Boston presents many opportunities for single professionals to enjoy themselves, socialize, and to create lasting relationships.

One of the nice things about Boston is that is it nautical, meaning that parts of the city are somewhat historic and on the ocean, or touch tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and tidal rivers. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.

One of the benefits of being a big city like Boston is having a public transportation system, but in Boston the transit system is the mode of choice for lots of people getting to and from work every day. You will find many people using the subway for their daily commute, even though other transportation options exist. If you ask these commuters, many will tell you that not having to drive in the snarl of big city traffic is one of main reasons for leaving the car at home, or even not owning a car at all. With so many people taking the subway, Boston benefits from a reduction in air pollution and traffic.

Boston Information and Demographics

The citizens of Boston are very well educated compared to the average community in the nation: 35.56% of adults in Boston have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in Boston in 2000 was $23,353, which is lower middle income relative to Massachusetts, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $93,412 for a family of four.

Boston is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Boston home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Boston is White, followed by 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 14.46% of the city's residents. Important ancestries of people in Boston include Irish, Italian, Haitian, English, and German.

Boston also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 25.77%.

The languages spoken by people in Boston are also diverse. These are tabulated as the languages people preferentially speak when they are at home with their families. The most common language spoken in Boston is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, French Creole, Chinese, and Portuguese.