The Census Bureau does not recognize or release data for Boston neighborhoods. However, Census block groups can be aggregated to approximate Boston neighborhood boundaries to allow for reporting and visualization of Census data at the neighborhood level. Census block groups are created by the U.S. Census Bureau as statistical geographic subdivisions of a census tract defined for the tabulation and presentation of data from the decennial census and the American Community Survey. The 2020 Census block group boundary files for Boston can be found here. These block group-approximated neighborhood boundaries are used for work with Census data. Work that does not rely on Census data generally uses the Boston neighborhood boundaries found here.

The Census Bureau does not recognize or release data for Boston neighborhoods. However, Census tracts can be aggregated to approximate Boston neighborhood boundaries to allow for reporting and visualization of Census data at the neighborhood level. Census tracts are created by the U.S. Census Bureau as statistical geographic subdivisions of a county defined for the tabulation and presentation of data from the decennial census and the American Community Survey. The 2020 Census tract boundary files for Boston can be found here. These tract-approximated neighborhood boundaries are used for work with Census data. Work that does not rely on Census data generally uses the Boston neighborhood boundaries found here.

The population density picture of Boston is generally a story of two Bostons: the high density central and northern neighborhoods, and the low density southern neighborhoods.The highest density areas of Boston are particularly concentrated in Brighton, Allston, and the Fenway area, areas of the city with large numbers of college students and young adults. There is also high population density in areas such as the Back Bay, the South End, Charlestown, the North End, and South Boston. These are all relatively small areas geographically, but have housing stock conducive to population density (e.g. multi-family dwelling units, row housing, large apartment buildings). The southern neighborhoods, specifically Hyde Park and West Roxbury, have significant numbers of people living in them, but lots sizes tend to be much larger. These areas of the city also tend to have more single family dwelling units. In that, there are fewer people per square mile than places north in the city. Census data reveals that population density varies noticeably from area to area. Small area census data do a better job depicting where the crowded neighborhoods are. In this map, areas of highest density exceed 30,000 persons per square kilometer. Very high density areas exceed 7,000 persons per square kilometer. High density areas exceed 5,200 persons per square kilometer. The last categories break at 3,330 persons per square kilometer, and 1,500 persons per square kilometer.How to make this map for your city

Boston Neighborhood Boundaries represent a combination of zoning neighborhood boundaries, zip code boundaries and 2010 census tract boundaries. These boundaries are used in the broad sense for visualization purposes, research analysis and planning studies. However these boundaries are not official neighborhood boundaries for the City of Boston. The BPDA is not responsible for any districts or boundaries within the City of Boston except for the districts we use for planning purposes.

Between 1935 and 1940 the federal government’s Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) classified the neighborhoods of 239 cities according to their perceived investment risk. This practice has since been referred to as “redlining,” as the neighborhoods classified as being the highest risk for investment were often colored red on the resultant maps. The Mapping Inequality project, a collaboration of faculty at the University of Richmond’s Digital Scholarship Lab, the University of Maryland’s Digital Curation Innovation Center, Virginia Tech, and Johns Hopkins University has digitized and georectified all 239 HOLC maps and made them publicly available, including the HOLC map of Boston from 1938. The Boston Area Research Initiative has coordinated (i.e., spatial joined) the districts from the 1938 HOLC map of Boston with census tracts from the 2010 U.S. Census. This dataset contains the original shapefile and the spatially joined tract-level data.

Demographic Data for Boston’s Neighborhoods, 1950-2019

Boston is a city defined by the unique character of its many neighborhoods. The historical tables created by the BPDA Research Division from U.S. Census Decennial data describe demographic changes in Boston’s neighborhoods from 1950 through 2010 using consistent tract-based geographies. For more analysis of these data, please see Historical Trends in Boston's Neighborhoods. The most recent available neighborhood demographic data come from the 5-year American Community Survey (ACS). The ACS tables also present demographic data for Census-tract approximations of Boston’s neighborhoods. For pdf versions of the data presented here plus earlier versions of the analysis, please see Boston in Context.

City Council Districts were approved by the City Council, signed by the Mayor and took effect January 1, 2014. Districts were updated September 2016 based on the updates made to wards and precincts by the City of Boston Election department.

Boston Transportation Department (BTD) districts.

Areas that are within 10 minutes of an exit are emphasized on this map, to give an indication of how accessible neighborhoods are by highway. The colors represent 1, 3, 5 and 10 minute increments from the exits, based on posted exit speeds and local road speeds in ideal conditions. The areas were calculated using ready to use services hosted in ArcGIS which feature a road network from HERE. A simple geoprocessing tool sent 40,000+ exit locations to the service, which returned the 160,000+ polygons. ---------------------The Civic Analytics Network collaborates on shared projects that advance the use of data visualization and predictive analytics in solving important urban problems related to economic opportunity, poverty reduction, and addressing the root causes of social problems of equity and opportunity. For more information see About the Civil Analytics Network.

A dataset that explores Green Card sponsorship trends, salary data, and employer insights for boston (dorchester neighborhood of boston), ma in the U.S.

Geospatial data about Boston, Massachusetts Police Districts. Export to CAD, GIS, PDF, CSV and access via API.

View and Download PDF Maps from Map Library School Districts and Buffer Zones (11 X 17)School Districts and Buffer Zones (8.5 X 11)Individual School MapBaker School District and Buffer Zones (22 X 34)Baker School District and Buffer Zones (8.5X 11)Devotion School District and Buffer Zones (22 X 34)Devotion School District and Buffer Zones (8.5 X 11)Driscoll School District and Buffer Zones (22 X 34)Driscoll School District and Buffer Zones (8.5 X 11)Health School District and Buffer Zones (22 X 34)Health School District and Buffer Zones (8.5 X 11)Lawrence School District and Buffer Zones (22 X 34)Lawrence School District and Buffer Zones (8.5 X 11)Lincoln School District and Buffer Zones (22 X 34)Lincoln School District and Buffer Zones (8.5 X 11)Pierce School District and Buffer Zones (22 X 34)Pierce School District and Buffer Zones (8.5 X 11)Runkle School District and Buffer Zones (22 X 34)Runkle School District and Buffer Zones (8.5 X 11)SCHOOL DISTRICTS: This data layer is created by Brookline GIS based upon the street centerline layer developed by Boston Edison and the hard copy school district map provided by the school department.SCHOOL BUFFER ZONES: This data layer is created by Brookline GIS based upon the parcel boundaries and the address list from the school department. Updated on 06/14/2001, 08/27/2002 and 06/16/2004 according to changes made by the School Committee

City of Boston Public Works Department (PWD) districts as of August 2015.

Neighborhood boundaries are created based on zip code, zoning district boundaries and census tract boundaries. This GIS data layer was produced by the BRA Office of Digital Cartography and GIS. These boundaries should not be considered official neighborhood boundaries for the City of Boston. The locations of features and boundaries shown on this map are approximate and are intended for planning and visualization purposes only. This is not intended for survey, engineering, or legal purposes. March 2011

Boston Main Street districts are a network of 20 Main Street Organizations that use a comprehensive revitalization approach to create, build, and sustain healthy commercial districts.

Feature layer generated from running the Plan Routes solution.

The boundaries of locally designated historic districts in Boston that require design review for exterior alterations to buildings.

The Department of Neighborhood Development (DND) takes care of city owned property, including the maintanence of buildings and vacant land. This is a legacy dataset that provides information on these properties including the size, location, potential use, and more.

Please see the current visualization of this data, provided by the Department of Neighborhood Development, for the most up to date information. Available @ http://property.boston.gov

January 2023

City Council Districts, November 2022. Docket 1275 Committee Report. Created by DoIT GIS