Click the Quick Info icon to the left of each row in TABLE view to learn about sampling error. To display just the "land area" of each town, use the definition query of COASTAL_POLY = 'NO' for the TOWNSSURVEY_POLY layer (this query is used in the themes in the MassGIS Data Viewer). [71][72] Massachusett has also been represented as Moswetuset. [389] The state has also been the birthplace of the rock bands Staind, Godsmack, and Highly Suspect, since these bands all were formed in Massachusetts cities such Springfield, Lawrence, and Cape Cod respectively. The state's jagged, and rockbound Atlantic Ocean coastline is a mixture of bays, inlets, sandy beaches, and odd-shaped islands - that all end in granite cliffs in the state's far northern part. His first victory was the siege of Boston in the winter of 177576, after which the British were forced to evacuate the city. Largest Cities in Oklahoma By size and population. [438] The University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School is located in Worcester. Massachusetts is one of four states that are legally described as a commonwealth. [401] The Boston Marathon is also a popular event in the state drawing more than 30,000 runners and tens of thousands of spectators annually. Plantation Number One (Western Township of 1762). [188], Most Bay State residents live within the Boston metropolitan area, also known as Greater Boston, which includes Boston and its proximate surroundings but also extending to Greater Lowell and to Worcester. "The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral, is an American cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The largest cities in Massachusetts with a population of more than 100,000: Boston (675,000), Worcester (206,000), Springfield (156,000), Lowell (116,000), and Cambridge (118,000) Other cities and towns in Massachusetts [148], The primary biome of inland Massachusetts is temperate deciduous forest. [125][126][127] 1. Boundary arcs from the existing USGS-derived municipal boundary data layer were then snapped to the survey-derived points. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Population and Housing. It is also the New England region's cultural and financial center. [364], Massachusetts is one of the most pro-choice states in the Union. [281] In 2014 and 2015, Massachusetts was ranked as the most energy efficient state the United States[282][283] while Boston is the most efficient city,[284] but it had the fourth-highest average residential retail electricity prices of any state. It is the largest town by area in Central and Western Massachusetts, with the four largest towns being in southeastern Massachusetts ( Plymouth, Middleborough, Dartmouth and Barnstable ). "[94][bettersourceneeded], In 1691, the colonies of Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth were united (along with present-day Maine, which had previously been divided between Massachusetts and New York) into the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Witness marks are often but not always on the town boundary. Future updates are described in the"Overview"section above. Although much of Massachusetts had been cleared for agriculture, leaving only traces of old-growth forest in isolated pockets, secondary growth has regenerated in many rural areas as farms have been abandoned. Commonly known as "the Big Dig", it was, at the time, the biggest federal highway project ever approved. Other major interstates in Massachusetts include I-291, I-391, I-84, I-195, I-395, I-290, and I-190. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the official website. Both Protestant and Roman Catholic communities have been in decline since the late 20th century, due to the rise of irreligion in New England. The plan calls for major investments in offshore wind and solar energy and would require all new automobiles sold to be zero-emissions (electric or hydrogen powered) by 2035. Shifting temperatures also result in the shifting of rainfall patterns and the intensification of precipitation events. "[366], There are 50 cities and 301 towns in Massachusetts, grouped into 14 counties. Transportation is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions by economic sector in Massachusetts.[286]. These are the 50 tiniest towns in Massachusetts. [249] CNBC's list of "Top States for Business for 2014" has recognized Massachusetts as the 25th-best state in the nation for business,[250] and for the second year in a row the state was ranked by Bloomberg as the most innovative state in America. If you have questions or comments about these layers pleasecontact MassGIS. A 2014 Pew Research Center poll found that 74% of Massachusetts residents supported the right to an abortion in all/most cases, making Massachusetts the most pro-choice state in the United States. Buddhists, Pagans, Hindus, Seventh-day Adventists, Muslims, and Mormons may also be found. [138] In 1966, Massachusetts became the first state to directly elect an African American to the U.S. senate with Edward Brooke. Suggestions are presented as an open option list only when they are available. [79] Tribes were led by male or female elders known as sachems. Frosts are frequent all winter, even in coastal areas due to prevailing inland winds. Additionally, Massachusetts provided Reagan with his smallest margins of victory in both the 1980[347] and 1984 elections. More than 156,000 Chinese Americans made their home in Massachusetts in 2014,[204] and Boston hosts a growing Chinatown accommodating heavily traveled Chinese-owned bus lines to and from Chinatown, Manhattan in New York City. [318] Interstate90 (I-90, also known as the Massachusetts Turnpike), is the longest interstate in Massachusetts. [224], A significant Jewish population immigrated to the Boston and Springfield areas between 1880 and 1920.
In terms of age, 79.2% were over 18 and 14.8% were over 65. 2022 Pop. Those towns were later disincorporated and reincorporated under New Hampshire laws on the same day in 1746. [353], Despite the state's Democratic-leaning tendency, Massachusetts has generally elected Republicans as Governor: only two Democrats (Deval Patrick and Maura Healey) have served as governor since 1991, and among gubernatorial election results from 2002 to 2022, Republican nominees garnered 48.4% of the vote compared to 45.7% for Democratic nominees. This comes from the name of the Moswetuset Hummock (meaning "hill shaped like an arrowhead") in Quincy, where Plymouth Colony commander Myles Standish (a hired English military officer) and Squanto (a member of the Patuxet band of the Wamponoag people, who have since died off due to contagious disease brought by colonizers) met Chief Chickatawbut in 1621. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. If you would like to continue helping us improve Mass.gov, join our user panel to test new features for the site. Therefore, because water is contained only in a higher-level geographic entity, summing the water measurements for all the component lower-level geographic entities will not yield the water area of that higher-level entity. This data is critical for government programs, policies, and decision-making. May 24, 2006: adjusted boundaries for moved points ID1 = 1629 (Needham-Wellesley) and 1933 (Winchendon-NH border). In Boston alone, costs of climate change-related storms will result in 5 to 100 billion dollars in damage. Massachusetts has 71 elementary school districts, 35 secondary school districts, and 210 unified school districts. This Atlas series, and updates since it was published, describes the legal boundary for each of the 351 municipalities in Massachusetts. Chap. Many of the towns and future cities shown covering the area of their original incorporation have since been divided into two, three or in some cases several smaller municipalities. An incorporated place can legally exist in a single county only. Suffolk County and Boston city are governmentally consolidated and have a single set of officials. 4Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division, recomputation from archived national block group/enumeration area data resulting in a possible error of up to 1,000 feet. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. According, Prescription medicine, groceries, gasoline, and clothing are all tax-exempt. [170] These increased precipitation patterns are focused in the winter and spring. [296], Amtrak carries more passengers between Boston and New York than all airlines combined (about 54% of market share in 2012),[298] but service between other cities is less frequent. For communities with a coastal boundary, MassGIS collaborated with theMassachusetts Water Resources Authorityand theDepartment of Environmental Protectionto complete a 1:12,000 scale coastline. Land area was calculated from the specific set of boundaries recorded for the entity (in this case, counties, which were then aggregated to metropolitan totals) in the Census Bureau's geographic database. Appliances such as water heaters, air conditioners, washers and driers, and heat pumps are eligible for rebates in order to incentivize change. To ensure that the Commonwealth experiences warming no more than 1.5C of pre-industrialization levels, the state will work to achieve net-zero emissions and the overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent by 2050.
[429] Massachusetts also ranks above average in the prevalence of binge drinking, which is the 20th-highest in the country. [180], For income-eligible residents, Mass Save has partnered with Massachusetts Community Action Program Agencies and Low-Income Energy Affordability Network (LEAN) to offer residents assistance with upgrades to their homes that will result in more efficient energy usage. [187], The state's most populous ethnic group, non-Hispanic white, has declined from 95.4% in 1970 to 67.6% in 2020. Skyline of Boston, largest municipality by population in Massachusetts, Downtown Worcester, Massachusetts's second largest municipality by population, Skyline of Springfield, third largest municipality by population in Massachusetts, Skyline of Cambridge, Massachusetts's fourth largest municipality by population. [220] A majority of people in Massachusetts today remain Christians. [223], As of the 2014 Pew study, Christians made up 57% of the state's population, with Protestants making up 21% of them. Wiki User. [245] The per capita personal income in 2012 was $53,221, making it the third-highest state in the nation. [363] However, in 2020, a ballot initiative to implement Ranked-Choice Voting failed, despite being championed by many progressives. [335] Meanwhile, the attorney general provides legal services to state agencies, combats fraud and corruption, investigates and prosecutes crimes, and enforces consumer protection, environment, labor, and civil rights laws as Massachusetts chief lawyer and law enforcement officer. Please limit your input to 500 characters. [50] In 1777, General Henry Knox founded the Springfield Armory, which, during the Industrial Revolution, catalyzed numerous important technological advances, including interchangeable parts. [140] Other notable Bay State politicians on the national level included John W. McCormack, Speaker of the House in the 1960s, and Tip O'Neill, whose service as Speaker of the House from 1977 to 1987 was the longest continuous tenure in United States history.[141]. [434] According to 2015 rankings by U.S. News & World Report, Massachusetts General Hospital is ranked in the top three in two health care specialties. The largest cities of Massachusetts are Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Lowell and Cambridge. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. The Route 128 corridor and Greater Boston continue to be a major center for venture capital investment,[256] and high technology remains an important sector. [430][431], The nation's first Marine Hospital was erected by federal order in Boston in 1799. [170], To combat this change, the state of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs has outlined a path to decarbonization of the state's economy. [123] Massachusetts is home to the oldest school in continuous existence in North America (The Roxbury Latin School, founded in 1645), as well as the country's oldest public elementary school (The Mather School, founded in 1639),[232] its oldest high school (Boston Latin School, founded in 1635),[233] its oldest continuously operating boarding school (The Governor's Academy, founded in 1763),[234] its oldest college (Harvard University, founded in 1636),[235] and its oldest women's college (Mount Holyoke College, founded in 1837). Drawing from its Native American and Yankee roots, along with later immigrant groups, Massachusetts has produced several writers, artists, and musicians. Boston, city, capital of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, and seat of Suffolk county, in the northeastern United States. In 1652 the Massachusetts legislature authorized John Hull to produce coinage (mintmaster). [300] This overlaps with the service areas of neighboring regional transportation authorities. [358], A number of contemporary national political issues have been influenced by events in Massachusetts, such as the decision in 2003 by the state Supreme Judicial Court allowing same-sex marriage[359] and a 2006 bill which mandated health insurance for all Bay Staters. The population data for 1790, 1800, and 1810 do not include the area of Maine. In addition to classical and folk music, Massachusetts has produced musicians and bands spanning a number of contemporary genres, such as the classic rock band Aerosmith, the proto-punk band The Modern Lovers, the new wave band The Cars, and the alternative rock band Pixies. The city is home to the largest concentration of retail and trade centers alongside the major presence of the banking, legal, medical and manufacturing sectors as well. 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