Italians form the second-largest ethnic group in the state (13.5%), but form a plurality in some suburbs north of Boston and in a few towns in the Berkshires. [122] In 1852, Massachusetts became the first state to pass compulsory education laws. The Atlas series was published in the early 1900s and has since been updated by the Survey Section of the Massachusetts Highway Department (now The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) - Highway Division) with changes as they are approved by the legislature. Lynn is especially known for its historic downtown cultural district with many public parks and open including the Lynn Shore Reservation, the 2,200-acre Lynn Woods Reservation, and the High Rock Tower Reservation. Lowell is home to the Lowell National Historical Park which is reminiscent of the citys early history as an immigrant city. [259], While manufacturing comprised less than 10% of Massachusetts's gross state product in 2016, the Commonwealth ranked 16th in the nation in total manufacturing output in the United States. The city was historically known as the City of Sin owing to its large number of crimes and illegal activities. Drafted by John Adams, the Massachusetts Constitution is the oldest functioning written constitution in continuous effect in the world. The Satanic Temple has its headquarters in Salem. Another important landmark is the Armenian Genocide Memorial. [277], Massachusetts's electricity generation market was made competitive in 1998, enabling retail customers to change suppliers without changing utility companies. Lynn is the largest city located in Essex County in northern Massachusetts. State of Massachusetts with population statistics, maps, charts, weather and web information. Name. This datalayer, except the coastline, was created by MassGIS. [345] Since the 1950s, Massachusetts has gained a reputation as being a politically liberal state and is often used as an archetype of modern liberalism, hence the phrase "Massachusetts liberal". The Census Bureau provides area measurement data for both land area and water area. [58][59] Massachusetts became the first U.S. state and one of the earliest jurisdictions in the world to legally recognize same-sex marriage as a result of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health in 2004,[60] and Boston is considered a hub of LGBT culture and LGBT activism in the United States. Stunning natural beauty, fascinating arts and culture, quaint villages, home to over 45 lighthouses, academic excellence and innovation, local culinary experiences, the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball, and the birthplace of basketball and volleyball - Massachusetts is a four-season destination that has it all . As of the summer of 2013 the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority in collaboration with the MBTA and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is operating the CapeFLYER providing passenger rail service between Boston and Cape Cod.[301][302]. [318] Interstate90 (I-90, also known as the Massachusetts Turnpike), is the longest interstate in Massachusetts. [120][121] Abolitionists John Brown and Sojourner Truth lived in Springfield and Northampton, respectively, while Frederick Douglass lived in Boston and Susan B. Anthony in Adams, Massachusetts. Also see theList of Town Numbers and NamesandTowns Index Map. [319] Other major interstates include I-91, which travels generally north and south along the Connecticut River; I-93, which travels north and south through central Boston, then passes through Methuen before entering New Hampshire; and I-95, which connects Providence, Rhode Island with Greater Boston, forming a partial loop concurrent with Route128 around the more urbanized areas before continuing north along the coast into New Hampshire. Established as a community for Christian Indians. Please limit your input to 500 characters. [238] In 2013, Massachusetts scored highest of all the states in math and third-highest in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Boston. Can An Employer Make You Stay Past Your Scheduled Time Massachusetts? The vintage year (e.g., V2022) refers to the final year of the series (2020 thru 2022). [228] Massachusetts was the first state in North America to require municipalities to appoint a teacher or establish a grammar school with the passage of the Massachusetts Education Law of 1647,[229] and 19th century reforms pushed by Horace Mann laid much of the groundwork for contemporary universal public education[230][231] which was established in 1852. February 2014: Tinker's Island reassigned to Salem from Marblehead and Bumkin Island reassigned from Hingham to Hull, based on data from Level 3 Assessors Parcels. Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - United States--States; and Puerto Rico, Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County by State; and Puerto Rico, Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - State--Place (and in selected states) County Subdivision. The city is home to a population of 673,184. [408], There are two major television media markets located in Massachusetts. According to 2010 data from The Association of Religion Data Archives, (ARDA) the largest single denominations are the Catholic Church with 2,940,199 adherents; the United Church of Christ with 86,639 adherents; and the Episcopal Church with 81,999 adherents. [187] As of July 2021, the population is estimated to have fallen to 6.98 million. km). What are the largest towns in Massachusetts by area? Are Minors Allowed In Bars In Massachusetts. The land was granted to Dedham in 1649. [427][428] 36.1% of the population is overweight and 24.4% is obese,[429] and Massachusetts ranks sixth-highest in the percentage of residents who are considered neither obese nor overweight (39.5%). We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Access demographic, economic and population data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Massachusetts is a global leader in research, higher education, and finance among others. It has an area of about 135 sq. The Census Bureau provides area measurement data for both land area and water area. [138] In 1966, Massachusetts became the first state to directly elect an African American to the U.S. senate with Edward Brooke. [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. A locked padlock C = City; T = Town; TC = Town with City form of government, or (for AMESBURY and EASTHAMPTON) a City without wards or precincts. Largest municipalities in Massachusetts by population 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 The city was an important manufacturing center most notably the largest producer of shoes during the American Civil War. Many residents who have settled in Greater Springfield claim Puerto Rican descent. Suburbanization flourished, and by the 1970s, the Route 128 corridor was dotted with high-technology companies who recruited graduates of the area's many elite institutions of higher education. [224], In 2018, Massachusetts's overall educational system was ranked the top among all fifty U.S. states by U.S. News & World Report. Each survey was tied into higher order monumented survey control points. [402], Long-distance hiking trails in Massachusetts include the Appalachian Trail, the New England National Scenic Trail, the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail, the Midstate Trail, and the Bay Circuit Trail. An official website of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, This page, MassGIS Data: Municipalities, is. Identification of land and inland, coastal, territorial, and Great Lakes waters is for data presentation purposes only and does not necessarily reflect their legal definitions. Published: Jun. Part of the Dorchester New Grant of 1637. Publication date 1927-1928. pg. What Is The Biggest Town In Massachusetts Land Wise? Opens and two Ryder Cups. [348] Massachusetts had been the only state to vote for Democrat George McGovern in the 1972 presidential election. [309], As of 2018, a number of freight railroads were operating in Massachusetts, with Class I railroad CSX being the largest carrier, and another Class 1, Norfolk Southern serving the state via its Pan Am Southern joint partnership. This list does not include territory changes affecting only part of a municipality; see History of Massachusetts. Appliances such as water heaters, air conditioners, washers and driers, and heat pumps are eligible for rebates in order to incentivize change. Changed TYPE to 'C' for Greenfield and 'TC' for North Attleborough. Bostonian John Adams, known as the "Atlas of Independence",[106] was highly involved in both separation from Britain and the Constitution of Massachusetts, which effectively (the Elizabeth Freeman and Quock Walker cases as interpreted by William Cushing) made Massachusetts the first state to abolish slavery. Separated from Medfield. By the 1920s, competition from the South and Midwest, followed by the Great Depression, led to the collapse of the three main industries in Massachusetts: textiles, shoemaking, and precision mechanics. to require all new cars sold to be electric by 2035 as part of climate-change measures", "MA2050DecarbonizationRoadmap_FINAL.pdf | Mass.gov", "Historical Population Change Data (19102020)", "Massachusetts Population Surpasses 7 Million In 2020 Census", "Table 1. [279] The sales tax is charged on clothing that costs more than $175.00, for the amount exceeding $175.00. The Pinehills is the fastest growing city in Massachusetts over the past 10 years, having grown 447.33% since 2010. The state's capital and most populous city, as well as its cultural and financial center, is Boston. The city itself has more than twice as many people as Los Angeles, and the New York-Newark urban area is the countrys only megacity.Americas Big Cities. Massachusetts ratified the U.S. Constitution on February 6, 1788; it was the sixth of the original 13 states to join the Union. Persons per square mile - population and housing unit density are computed by dividing the total population or number of housing units within a geographic entity by the land area of that entity measured in square miles or in square kilometers. [403] Other outdoor recreational activities in Massachusetts include sailing and yachting, freshwater and deep-sea fishing,[404] whale watching,[405] downhill and cross-country skiing,[406] and hunting. Mary Baker Eddy made the Boston Mother Church of Christian Science serve as the world headquarters of this new religious movement. 1Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1923 For more information, please visit the 2021 5-year ACS Comparison Guidance page. [205] Boston's South End and Jamaica Plain are both gay villages, as is nearby Provincetown, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. What are the most populated cities in Massachusetts? The state is home to some of the country's largest and most well-known cities, including Boston, Cambridge, and Worcester. Other major interstates in Massachusetts include I-291, I-391, I-84, I-195, I-395, I-290, and I-190. [143] The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) later identified the suspects as brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. The most common varieties of American English spoken in Massachusetts, other than General American, are the cot-caught distinct, rhotic, western Massachusetts dialect and the cot-caught merged, non-rhotic, eastern Massachusetts dialect (popularly known as a "Boston accent"). Plymouth, Massachusetts is the largest town in Massachusetts. New Jersey", "#26 The Governors Academy, Byfield, Mass", "Harvard Plans to Name First Female President", "These Are the Best Private High Schools in America, According to a New Ranking", "How States Are Spending Money in Education", "Are the nation's twelfth-graders making progress in mathematics and reading? Massachusetts has avoided many forms of racial strife seen elsewhere in the US, but examples such as the successful electoral showings of the nativist (mainly anti-Catholic) Know Nothings in the 1850s,[213] the controversial Sacco and Vanzetti executions in the 1920s,[214] and Boston's opposition to desegregation busing in the 1970s[215] show that the ethnic history of Massachusetts was not completely harmonious. [52] On February 6, 1788, Massachusetts became the sixth state to ratify the United States Constitution. See the Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas page for a list of metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas and related statistical areas. We will use this information to improve this page. His younger brother Edward M. Kennedy held that seat until his death from a brain tumor in 2009. Colonial period In 1620, the Pilgrims arrived on the Mayflower and established Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, beginning the history of permanent European colonization in New England. The city of Boston lies to the south of Cambridge and the Charles River separates the two cities. Area ; Abington . [334] Leaders of the House and Senate are chosen by the members of those bodies; the leader of the House is known as the Speaker while the leader of the Senate is known as the President. Despite its small size, Massachusetts features numerous topographically distinctive regions. 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 ). Barnstable Town Boston Taunton Westfield Pittsfield Worcester Northampton Fall River Haverhill Springfield Palmer Town Leominster Fitchburg Attleboro Franklin Town Gloucester Agawam Town Chicopee Methuen Town Gardner Greenfield Town Brockton Holyoke Marlborough North Adams Southbridge Town New Bedford Newton Wilmington Weymouth Town West Hull would assume office in January 1930. [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]. [342], In U.S. presidential elections since 2012, Massachusetts has been allotted 11 votes in the electoral college, out of a total of 538. In total, 21.07% (1,287,419) of Massachusetts's population5 and older spoke a first language other than English. October 12, 2006: BND_QUAL values changed along Brookline-Boston border. It is the second . Although the documentation is incomplete, about 1,700 letters of marque, issued on a per-voyage basis, were granted during the American Revolution. Monroe. 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. Some municipalities, however, still refer to themselves as "towns" even though they have a city form of government. Both the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops Orchestra are based in Massachusetts. Massachusetts was a site of early English colonization: the Plymouth Colony was founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims of the Mayflower, and in 1630 the Massachusetts Bay Colony, taking its name from the indigenous Massachusett people, established settlements in Boston and Salem. [99] In 1774, the Intolerable Acts targeted Massachusetts with punishments for the Boston Tea Party and further decreased local autonomy, increasing local dissent. [378], Massachusetts was an early center of the Transcendentalist movement, which emphasized intuition, emotion, human individuality and a deeper connection with nature. The portions of the oceans and related large embayments (such as Chesapeake Bay and Puget Sound), the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea that belong to the United States and its territories are classified as coastal and territorial waters; the Great Lakes are treated as a separate water entity. Massachusetts' capital city is Boston. [435] Massachusetts General was founded in 1811 and serves as the largest teaching hospital for nearby Harvard University. The population data for 1790, 1800, and 1810 do not include the area of Maine. The 53 incorporated places are independent of MCDs and serve as county subdivisions. With a population of 94,654, Lynn narrowly edge out Quincy as the eighth-most populous city in the state. [60] This decision was eventually superseded by the U.S. Supreme Court's affirmation of same-sex marriage in the United States in 2015. [334] Each branch consists of several committees. In Massachusetts, eleven Program Administrators, including Eversource, National Grid, Western Massachusetts Electric, Cape Light Compact, Until, and Berkshire Gas, jointly own the rights to this program, in conjunction with the MA Department of Energy Resources (DOER) and the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council (EEAC). There are 538 ZIP Code tabulation areas (ZCTAs) in Massachusetts. The final year of the original 13 States to join the Union 1790... Many residents who have settled in Greater Springfield claim Puerto Rican descent ] largest towns in massachusetts by land area... The sales tax is charged on clothing that costs more than $ 175.00, for amount... 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