Boston, Mass

Boston, Massachusetts
State capital
City of Boston
Clockwise from top: Back Bay skyline, Fenway Park, Christian Science Center, Boston Common, the Financial District, and the Massachusetts State House
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): See Boston nicknames
Motto: Sicut patribus sit Deus nobis (Latin) "As God was with our fathers, so may He be with us"
Location in Suffolk County and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Boston Location in the United States
Coordinates: 42°21′29″N 71°03′49″W / 42.35806°N 71.06361°W / 42.35806; -71.06361Coordinates: 42°21′29″N 71°03′49″W / 42.35806°N 71.06361°W / 42.35806; -71.06361
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Suffolk
Historic countries	Kingdom of England  Kingdom of Great Britain
Historic colonies	Massachusetts Bay Colony in the Province of Massachusetts Bay
Settled (town)	September 7, 1630 (date of naming, Old Style)
Incorporated (city)	March 4, 1822
Named for	Boston, Lincolnshire
Government
• Type	Strong mayor / Council
• Mayor	Marty Walsh (D)
• Council	Boston City Council
Area
• State capital	89.63 sq mi (232.14 km2)
• Land	48.42 sq mi (125.41 km2)
• Water	41.21 sq mi (106.73 km2)
• Urban	1,770 sq mi (4,600 km2)
• Metro	4,500 sq mi (11,700 km2)
• CSA	10,600 sq mi (27,600 km2)
Elevation	141 ft (43 m)
Population (2016 estimate)
• State capital	673,184
• Density	14,024/sq mi (5,415/km2)
• Urban	4,180,000 (US: 10th)
• Metro	4,628,910 (US: 10th)
• CSA	8,041,303 (US: 6th)
• Demonym	Bostonian
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP Codes	53 ZIP codes 02108–02137, 02163, 02196, 02199, 02201, 02203, 02204, 02205, 02206, 02210, 02211, 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	0617565
Website	Boston.gov

External image

Cut-away view of typical pile-supported building

Nickname(s): See Boston nicknames

Motto: Sicut patribus sit Deus nobis (Latin)
"As God was with our fathers, so may He be with us"

Boston (pronounced ⁱ/ˈbɒstən/ BOSS-tən) is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Boston is also the seat of Suffolk County, although the county government was disbanded on July 1, 1999. The city proper covers 48 square miles (124 km²) with an estimated population of 673,184 in 2016, making it the largest city in New England and the 23rd most populous city in the United States. The city is the economic and cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area known as Greater Boston, a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 4.8 million people in 2016 and ranking as the tenth-largest such area in the country. Alternately, as a Combined Statistical Area (CSA), this wider commuting region is home to some 8.2 million people, making it the sixth-largest as such in the United States.