Boston

This article is about the U.S. city. For other uses, see Boston (disambiguation).

Boston
State capital
Downtown Boston from Boston Harbor Old State House Acorn Street, Beacon Hill Massachusetts State House Fenway Park during a Boston Red Sox game Back Bay from the Charles River
Flag Seal Wordmark
Nicknames:  Bean Town, Title Town, others
Motto:  Sicut patribus sit Deus nobis (Latin) "As God was with our fathers, so may He be with us"
Interactive map of Boston
Boston Location within Greater Boston area Boston Location within Massachusetts Boston Location within the United States Boston Location within Earth
Coordinates: 42°21′37″N 71°3′28″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 for	Boston, Lincolnshire
Government
• Type	Strong mayor / Council
• Mayor	Michelle Wu (D)
• Council	Boston City Council
• Council President	Liz Breadon (D)
Area
• State capital	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	10,700 sq mi (27,600 km2)
Elevation	46 ft (14 m)
Population  (2020)
• State capital	675,647
• Estimate  (2025)	672,973
• Rank	71st in North America 25th in the United States 1st in Massachusetts
• Density	13,976.9/sq mi (5,396.51/km2)
• Urban	4,382,009 (US: 10th)
• Urban density	2,646/sq mi (1,021.8/km2)
• Metro	4,941,632 (US: 10th)
Demonym	Bostonian
GDP
• Metro	$644.814 billion (2024)
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes	53 ZIP Codes 02108–02137, 02163, 02196, 02199, 02201, 02203–02206, 02210–02212, 02215, 02217, 02222, 02126, 02228, 02241, 02266, 02283–02284, 02293, 02295, 02297–02298, 02467 (also includes parts of Newton and Brookline)
Area codes	617 and 857
FIPS code	25-07000
GNIS feature ID	617565
Website	boston.gov

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Boston (/ˈbɔːstən/ ^ⓘ BAW-stən, /ˈbɒ-/) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It serves as a cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. Boston has an area of 48.4 square miles (125 km²) and a population of 675,647 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in the Northeastern United States after New York City and Philadelphia. The larger Greater Boston metropolitan statistical area had a population of 5 million in 2025, making it the largest metropolis 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, 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), the Battle of Bunker Hill (1775), and the Siege of Boston (1775–1776).

Following American independence from Great Britain, Boston 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). By the 21st century, Boston emerged as a global leader in higher education and research, and has become one of the largest biotechnology hubs in the world. With an economy led by finance, professional and business services, information technology, and government, the city is a national leader in medicine, engineering, and business.