Research Publications

A look at Boston's neighborhood through Decennial Census Data from 1950-2020.

This Historical Boston in Context document compares how Boston, Boston’s neighborhoods, Massachusetts, and the United States changed demographically between 1950 and 2021. It uses data from the United States Census Bureau’s Decennial Censuses and American Community Surveys.

This presentation recounts the history of redlining and the interlocking set of housing policies that helped create contemporary patterns of wealth and segregation. It assesses the impacts of these policies on people and places in Boston using contemporary and historical data. Our focus is on the connections between Black people and place in Boston and how policy’s focus has impacted those connections over time.

A profile of poverty in Boston.

2017-2021 American Community Survey

This presentation looks at the young adult demographic in Boston across the generations. How have the demographics of the population changed between 1980, 2000 and 2020?

Young Adults 18-34 make up 39% of Boston’s population, but only 23% of the U.S. Population. This presentation looks at how Boston's young adult population compares to the rest of the country.

Boston's migration patterns are marked by net positive international migration and net negative regional migration. This presentation profiles residents who move to Boston and those residents who leave Boston to live elsewhere.

Almost 15% of Massachusetts residents are second generation: those born in the United States who have at least one foreign-born parent. This presentation profiles these residents.

In 2020, there were approximately 97,000 non US citizens living in Boston, making up about 14% of the city's population. This presentation is a profile of these residents.