How serious are America’s mayors? · Incorporated city
Boston, MA
673,458 people, 2024 · Census GEOID 2507000 · Census profile · mayors: being verified
Overall in 2023, Boston ranked #218 of 340 cities and 3rd of 14 in its peer group, on 9 of 9 measures. Weigh the measures yourself · how ranks are made
Its peer group is Boston and the 13 cities most like it in 2005 (size, income, poverty, industry, growth, density, place), fixed since: Washington DC, Philadelphia PA, Providence RI, Minneapolis MN, Newark NJ, Baltimore MD, Long Beach CA, Chicago IL, Atlanta GA, St. Paul MN, Oakland CA, Yonkers NY, Santa Ana CA · on the map, and why
| Topline | 2005–2024 | Latest rank | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rankamong all cities with a score that year | #218 of 340 cities · 3rd of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | #331 | #321 | #325 | #323 | #287 | #329 | #304 | #252 | #230 | #258 | #258 | #252 | #262 | #288 | #242 | #166 | #276 | #243 | #218 | #238 | |
| people · size, not ranked | 587,260 | 587,816 | 593,136 | 600,685 | 612,669 | 621,048 | 630,505 | 642,955 | 653,002 | 662,855 | 670,491 | 679,848 | 687,788 | 691,147 | 692,600 | 675,522 | 658,581 | 660,080 | 664,603 | 673,458 | ||
| net movers per 100 residents · estimate · higher is better | #328 of 340 cities · 14th of 14 in its peer group | -2.5 | -1.8 | -1.0 | -0.7 | +0.0 | — | -0.2 | -0.0 | -0.4 | -0.6 | -0.7 | -0.7 | -1.1 | -1.4 | -1.4 | -0.5 | -3.4 | -2.3 | -1.9 | -1.4 | |
| new homes per 1,000 residents · higher is better | #147 of 271 cities with data · 2nd of 11 in its peer group with data | — | 4.1 | 1.8 | — | — | — | — | 2.8 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 7.4 | 4.9 | 7.4 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 6.0 | 3.1 | 2.7 | |
| rent as % of income · lower is better | #259 of 340 cities · 10th of 14 in its peer group | 30.3% | 27.0% | 26.3% | 26.2% | 25.6% | 29.7% | 30.3% | 28.7% | 28.3% | 28.5% | 29.3% | 28.1% | 27.7% | 27.5% | 26.4% | — | 27.4% | 27.4% | 26.3% | 27.0% | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #115 of 304 cities with data · 2nd of 14 in its peer group | 12.4 | 12.8 | 11.0 | 10.3 | 8.2 | 11.8 | 10.0 | 8.9 | 6.0 | 8.0 | 5.7 | 7.2 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 6.1 | 8.6 | 5.6 | 7.0 | 5.3 | 3.7 | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #138 of 295 cities with data · 4th of 12 in its peer group with data | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 71.4 | 60.1 | 52.4 | 48.3 | 49.4 | |
| jobs · size, not ranked | — | — | — | — | — | — | 554,341 | 580,317 | 594,138 | 615,197 | 621,467 | 653,026 | 666,238 | 674,480 | 687,603 | 653,733 | 642,061 | 687,736 | 718,571 | — | ||
| points ahead of the metro · higher is better | #53 of 329 cities with data · 5th of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | +3.1 | +0.1 | +1.4 | -1.3 | +2.6 | +0.7 | -0.2 | +0.7 | +2.3 | -3.3 | +1.8 | +2.1 | — | |
| people · size, not ranked | — | — | — | — | — | — | 316,521 | 332,051 | 348,137 | 345,285 | 366,392 | 368,750 | 381,602 | 382,784 | 406,937 | — | 358,975 | 373,038 | 387,708 | 385,442 | ||
| % of workforce · lower is better | #159 of 340 cities · 3rd of 14 in its peer group | — | — | — | — | — | — | 11.6% | 9.6% | 8.1% | 8.3% | 6.7% | 7.6% | 6.7% | 6.9% | 4.4% | — | 8.0% | 5.2% | 4.2% | 4.8% | |
| % of promises funded · not ranked: 38 cities report | 64% | 67% | 68% | 59% | 60% | 63% | 61% | 62% | 59% | 0% | 62% | 0% | 63% | 0% | 63% | 0% | 69% | 0% | 73% | 76% | ||
| surplus as % of revenue · higher is better | #255 of 314 cities with data · 8th of 14 in its peer group | 14% | 18% | 2% | 12% | 14% | 13% | 12% | 9% | 13% | 11% | 10% | 14% | 13% | 12% | 13% | 12% | 10% | 1% | 8% | 7% | |
| dollars per resident · lower is better | #202 of 314 cities with data · 7th of 14 in its peer group | $4,046 | $3,861 | $3,674 | $3,548 | $3,580 | $3,702 | $3,492 | $3,257 | $3,491 | $3,434 | $3,568 | $3,505 | $3,591 | $3,440 | $3,516 | $3,214 | $3,193 | $3,326 | $3,494 | $3,422 |
Click a row for its source and its rank in every year. 1st is best whichever way the measure points. A rank is out of all 340 cities, or out of its peer group of 14; where some had no value that year it says “with data” and counts only those. An em dash is a year the source does not hold for Boston. A greyed homicide figure is a year the FBI holds as a transition year for this department. What each row is, and is not, is on the main page, with a link to every source in Sources.