Research Publications

This document includes profiles of each of Boston's neighborhoods, including demographic, employment, housing, and development information. Click the thumbnail image for a compilation of all profiles, or click on the following links for individual neighborhood profiles: Allston, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Brighton, Charlestown, Dorchester, Downtown, East Boston, Fenway, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Longwood, Mattapan, Mission Hill, North End, Roslindale, Roxbury, South Boston, South Boston Waterfront, South End, West End, West Roxbury

This report by the Boston Planning and Development Agency Research Division is a short reference guide to the city of Boston. It breaks down the population by age group, gender, and nativity. It also looks at Boston's colleges and universities, housing, and land use.

This publication compares Boston and its neighborhoods to the U.S. and Massachusetts on several demographic, economic and housing characteristics. This report uses 2011-2015 American Community Survey data from the U.S. Census.

Commuting patterns reflect interactions within the regional economy. Workers who reside in one town may work in a neighboring town. Jobs in a given town may be filled by a combination of resident workers and commuters. This report examines residential and employment patterns in the greater Boston area and within Boston neighborhoods.

This report will provide insight into Boston's business establishments and employment by neighborhood. The main data source for this report is the 2013 ZIP Code Business Patterns (ZCBP), published by the U.S. Census Bureau. For citywide business trends, please see "Boston Business Patterns 2016."

This publication compares Boston and its neighborhoods to the U.S. and Massachusetts on several demographic, economic and housing characteristics. This report uses 2010-2014 American Community Survey data.

Boston by the Numbers is a packet of short reports on Gender, Foreign Born, Colleges & Universities, Land Use & Housing, Children & Families, Young Adults, and the Elderly. Data are taken primarily from the 2014 American Community Survey.

This publication compares Boston and its neighborhoods to the U.S. and Massachusetts on several demographic, economic and housing characteristics. This report uses a combination of 2010 Census data and 2009-2013 American Community Survey data.

On October 14, 2014, Alvaro Lima, Director of Research at the BRA, presented information on the characteristics of Boston and its neighborhoods to a group from Boston Education Funders. The presentation discusses recent demographic changes in Boston and highlights the 0-24 population.

This report is a profile on Boston's unemployed population. It includes 2008-2012 and 2012 American Community Survey data by neighborhood, race, age, sex, nativity, and more. This report was revised to use the boundaries for the West End and Downtown that went into effect in 2014. See the original report using the previous boundaries