This file contains the 65 cities and towns in Massachusetts for which MBTA bus or rapid transit service is provided. This data is based off of the 2010 census. The legislative intent for some boundaries could not be mapped. Boundaries where that is true are identified in the attribute information. Name Description Data Type Example town_name Full name for the MA town or city identification. String Boston town_id MassGIS Town-ID Code (alphabetical, 1-351) Numeric 34 sum_acres Area covered by the town or city in acres. Double 31304.22 sum_square Area covered by the town or city in square miles. Double 48.91 Use constraints: This data set, like all other cartographic products may contain inherent aberrations in geography or thematical errors. The boundaries included in this data set were developed using accepted GIS methodology. Cartographic products can never truly represent real-world conditions due to several factors. These factors can include, but are not limited to: human error upon digitizing, computational tolerance of the computer, or the distortion of map symbology. Because of these factors MassGIS cannot be held legally responsible for personal or property damages resulting from any type of use of the data set. These boundaries are suitable for map display and planning purposes. They cannot be used as a substitute for the work of a professional land surveyor.MassDOT/MBTA shall not be held liable for any errors in this data. This includes errors of omission, commission, errors concerning the content of the data, and relative and positional accuracy of the data. This data cannot be construed to be a legal document. Primary sources from which this data was compiled must be consulted for verification of information contained in this data.

Functional Classification refers to the character of services that a particular roadway is intended to provide. In general, roads either serve to provide mobility for vehicles or access to locations. The process of functional classification was mandated by Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) and implemented in 1993 by the Office of Transportation Planning in cooperation with the 13 Regional Planning Agencies. Roadways are divided into the following three classification categories:Arterials: These roadways provide the highest level of mobility at the greatest vehicular speed for the longest uninterrupted distances and are not intended to provide access to specific locations. Arterials are further subdivided into Principal Arterials and Minor Arterials. However, for the purposes of this report they have been grouped together. Please note that Interstates are considered Arterials, but they have been given their own category in this report.Collectors: These roadways provide some level of both mobility and access. They collect traffic from Local roads and funnel it to Arterials. In rural areas, collectors are further subdivided into Major Collectors and Minor Collectors, but for the purposes of this report they have been grouped together.Locals: These roadways provide access to abutting land with little or no emphasis on mobility. The termLocal road should not be confused with local jurisdiction. Most, but not all, functionally classified Local roads are under city/town jurisdiction.

MassGIS' standardized ("Level 3") property tax parcel mapping data set was developed through a competitive procurement funded by MassGIS. Each community in the Commonwealth was bid on by one or more vendors and the unit of work awarded was a city or town. The specification for this work was Level 3 of the MassGIS Digital Parcel Standard. Standardization of assessor parcel mapping is complete for all 351 Massachusetts' cities and towns. MassGIS is now incorporating updates from municipalities into the database. This hosted feature layer is exported from MassGIS' internal database of the feature class GISDATA.L3_TAXPAR_POLY_ASSESS, which links L3_TAXPAR_POLY and L3_ASSESS. The export includes the expression: (POLY_TYPE IN ('FEE', 'TAX')) OR (POLY_TYPE IN ('ROW', 'PRIV_ROW', 'RAIL_ROW', 'WATER') AND PROP_ID IS NOT NULL) It contains several fields from GISDATA.L3_ASSESS and stacked polygons where multiple assessor records link to a parcel. It contains features that do not have an associated record in GISDATA.L3_ASSESS, except for rights of way and water bodies. ROWs and water bodies with a non-null PROP_ID are included. The data in this feature layer is used for the popups in the Massachusetts Interactive Property Map. See full data descriptionA hosted tile layer will draw very quickly at map scale of 1:18,056 (level 15) to 1:564 (level 20).

It includes all heavy rail and light rail rapid transit lines. Due to track circuit or other data issues, data is not guaranteed to be complete for any stop or date.Due to data collection issues, the following dates and/or lines are missing from this data set:January 21, 2017 Blue LineJune 4, 2017 Mattapan High Speed LineOctober 22, 2017 Mattapan High Speed LineFebruary 8 - March 2, 2017 All Green Line branchesMattapan High Speed Line data available beginning May 30, 2017.Data Dictionary:

Name
Description
Data Type
Example


service_date
Date for which headways should be returned. 
Date
2019-12-31


route_id
GTFS-compatible route for which headways should be returned. 
String
Orange


direction_id
GTFS-compatible direction for which headways should be returned. 
Integer
0


stop_id
GTFS-compatible stop for which headways should be returned.
String
70154


start_time_sec
Property of “Headways”. Expressed in "seconds after midnight." The time associated with the departure event of previous vehicle.
Integer
45763


end_time_sec
Property of “Headways”. Expressed in "seconds after midnight." The time associated with the departure event of current vehicle.
Integer
46411


headway_time_sec
Property of “Headways”. Difference between start_time_sec and end_time_sec. The actual headway between two trains with the same destination, in seconds. Red line trunk stops will have two headways for the same southbound train: one dependent on the destination and one independent of the destination.
Integer
648


destination
Property of “Headways”. Intended destination for the vehicle.
String
Forest Hills

MassDOT/MBTA shall not be held liable for any errors in this data. This includes errors of omission, commission, errors concerning the content of the data, and relative and positional accuracy of the data. This data cannot be construed to be a legal document. Primary sources from which this data was compiled must be consulted for verification of information contained in this data.

The Land Use (2005) datalayer is a Massachusetts statewide, seamless digital dataset of land cover / land use, created using semi-automated methods, and based on 0.5 meter resolution digital ortho imagery captured in April 2005.The classification scheme is based on the coding schema used for previous Massachusetts land use datasets, with modifications.These data were prepared by Sanborn. The minimum mapping unit (MMU) is generally 1 acre, but a MMU as low as ¼ acre may be found in some areas, e.g. in urban areas where assessor parcels were used to enhance the mapping of multi-family residential areas.The formerly used “MacConnell” schema combined land cover and land use categories, and was designed for manual interpretation of aerial photos. In this project, that protocol was modified so that it was useful in an automated environment, but it still maintains much compatibility with the older system. The spatial accuracy of the current method is excellent, since the land use map is derived directly from the ortho image.Please see https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massgis-data-land-use-2005 for more details.Feature service also available.

This MassGIS Land Use data layer has 21 land use classifications interpreted from 1999 1:25,000 aerial photography. Photointerpretation and automation were done by the Resource Mapping Project at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. All land use categories were aggregated from 104 categories originally defined in 1971 by Professor William MacConnell at the Dept. of Forestry at UMass Amherst.Please see https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massgis-data-land-use-1951-1999 for more details.Map service also available.

It includes all heavy rail and light rail rapid transit lines. Due to track circuit or other data issues, data is not guaranteed to be complete for any stop or date.Due to data collection issues, the following dates and/or lines are missing from this data set:March 23, 2020 Mattapan High Speed Line. Data Dictionary:

Name
Description
Data Type
Example


service_date
Date for which headways should be returned. 
Date
2020-12-31


route_id
GTFS-compatible route for which headways should be returned. 
String
Orange


direction_id
GTFS-compatible direction for which headways should be returned. 
Integer
0


stop_id
GTFS-compatible stop for which headways should be returned.
String
70154


start_time_sec
Property of “Headway”. Expressed in "seconds after midnight." The time associated with the departure event of previous vehicle.
Integer
45763


end_time_sec
Property of “Headway”. Expressed in "seconds after midnight." The time associated with the departure event of current vehicle.
Integer
46411


headway_time_sec
Property of “Headway”. Difference between start_time_sec and end_time_sec. The actual headway between two trains with the same destination, in seconds. Red line trunk stops will have two headways for the same southbound train: one dependent on the destination and one independent of the destination.
Integer
648


destination
Property of “Headway”. Intended destination for the vehicle.
String
Forest Hills

MassDOT/MBTA shall not be held liable for any errors in this data. This includes errors of omission, commission, errors concerning the content of the data, and relative and positional accuracy of the data. This data cannot be construed to be a legal document. Primary sources from which this data was compiled must be consulted for verification of information contained in this data.

MassGIS' standardized assessors’ parcel mapping data set contains property (land lot) boundaries and database information from each community's assessor.The data were developed through a competitive procurement funded by MassGIS. Each community in the Commonwealth was bid on by one or more vendors and the unit of work awarded was a city or town. The specification for this work was Level 3 of the MassGIS Digital Parcel Standard.This map service contains three feature classes and one table.Feature service also available.See the datalayer page for full details.

April 2025

Massachusetts cached tiled basemap with topographic base, detailed features, and property tax parcels. Parcels display at levels 17, 18 and 19. Created May 5, 2025.

Detailed Features include:

Political Boundaries: Massachusetts cities and towns, counties and state border (Community Boundaries (Towns) from Survey Points, MassGIS) Transportation: Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Roads (MassDOT, MassGIS); MBTA subway and Commuter Rail lines and stations (Central Transportation Planning Staff, MassGIS); Airports, Ferry Routes and Seaports (MassDOT); Airport Runways and Airfields (Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA))Infrastructure and Facilities: Lighthouses and Lights (Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management); Licensed Child Care Programs (Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care); Schools (Pre-K - High School) (Massachusetts Department of Education, MassGIS); Colleges and Universities (MassGIS); Acute Care Hospitals (Massachusetts Department of Public Health Office of Emergency Medical Services); Non-acute Care Hospitals, Police Stations, Fire Stations, Town Halls (MEMA), Libraries, Places of Worship, Prisons, and DCR Pools.

This Topographic Base includes shaded relief, elevation contour lines with labels in feet, protected open space (parks, forests, preserves, etc.), hydrography (lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, wetlands), ocean, surrounding states, developed land areas, and airfields and runways.

Using digital soils data from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a series of selections and calculations classified soil associations into 9 different categories of prime forest based ultimately on forest productivity in white pine and red oak. Other data sets were used to refine this classification, including aspect, 1999 land use - land cover, riparian, slope position, wetlands, hydrologic soil association and unique areas. The hydrologic soil associations were based on NRCS information that came as Access files with the soils data. All other data was available from MassGIS.The project “Soil Productivity Mapping for Use in Forest Management” is a digital representation of work done previously in the Department of Natural Resources Conservation at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. GIS data created for this project followed (where possible) the protocol established in UMass Research Bulletin #705 – Prime Forest Land Classification for Forest Productivity in Massachusetts.Also see https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massgis-data-prime-forest-land for full metadata and access to data download.

This map service contains the Property Tax Parcel Mapping from MassGIS. The data are cached and stored as a tiled map service (levels 15-20) at ArcGIS Online for fast display.

This tile cache was last updated on May 1, 2025.

MassGIS' standardized "Level 3" assessors’ parcel mapping data set contains property (land lot) boundaries and database information from each community's assessor.

The data were developed through a competitive procurement funded by MassGIS. Each community in the Commonwealth was bid on by one or more vendors and the unit of work awarded was a city or town. The specification for this work was Level 3 of the MassGIS Digital Parcel Standard. Standardized data are available for all of Massachusetts' 351 cities and towns.

MassGIS is continuing the project, updating parcel data provided by municipalities. See the L3 Parcel Fiscal Year Status Map.To query the parcels, use the hosted feature layer.

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) – Division of State Parks and Recreation (DSPR) Roads and Trails datalayer contains all legal roads and trails (lines and point features) identified by DCR staff and consultants on DCR DSPR properties (as well as some of the Urban Parks; eventually all trails on these properties will be integrated into this dataset).Roads and trails on private and non-DCR public land were mapped if they connected to these roads and trails and should be used with permission and should not be used if posted.More info...Map service also available.

It includes all heavy rail and light rail rapid transit lines. Due to track circuit or other data issues, data is not guaranteed to be complete for any stop or date.Due to data collection issues, the following dates and/or lines are missing from this data set:January 2019 High volume of Green Line dataJanuary 6, 2019 Mattapan High Speed Line April 23, 2019 Mattapan High Speed Line June 11, 2019 All LinesJune 29, 2019 Mattapan High Speed LineJuly 20, 2019 Mattapan High Speed LineOctober 5-6, 2019 Mattapan High Speed LineDecember 7, 2019 Mattapan High Speed LineDecember 25, 2019 Mattapan High Speed LineDecember 28, 2019 Mattapan High Speed Line.

Data Dictionary:

Name
Description
Data Type
Example


service_date
Date for which headways should be returned. 
Date
2019-12-31


route_id
GTFS-compatible route for which headways should be returned. 
String
Orange


direction_id
GTFS-compatible direction for which headways should be returned. 
Integer
0


stop_id
GTFS-compatible stop for which headways should be returned.
String
70154


start_time_sec
Property of “Headway”. Expressed in "seconds after midnight." The time associated with the departure event of previous vehicle.
Integer
45763


end_time_sec
Property of “Headway”. Expressed in "seconds after midnight." The time associated with the departure event of current vehicle.
Integer
46411


headway_time_sec
Property of “Headway”. Difference between start_time_sec and end_time_sec. The actual headway between two trains with the same destination, in seconds. Red line trunk stops will have two headways for the same southbound train: one dependent on the destination and one independent of the destination.
Integer
648


destination
Property of “Headway”. Intended destination for the vehicle.
String
Forest Hills

MassDOT/MBTA shall not be held liable for any errors in this data. This includes errors of omission, commission, errors concerning the content of the data, and relative and positional accuracy of the data. This data cannot be construed to be a legal document. Primary sources from which this data was compiled must be consulted for verification of information contained in this data.

The statewide dataset contains a combination of land cover mapping from 2016 aerial imagery and land use derived from standardized assessor parcel information for Massachusetts. The data layer is the result of a cooperative project between MassGIS and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of Coastal Management (OCM). Funding was provided by the Mass. Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

This land cover/land use dataset does not conform to the classification schemes or polygon delineation of previous land use data from MassGIS (1951-1999; 2005).In this feature service layer hosted at MassGIS' ArcGIS Server, all impervious polygons are symbolized by their generalized use code; all non-impervious land cover polygons are symbolized by their land cover category. The idea behind this method is to use both cover and use codes to provide a truer picture of how land is being used: parcel use codes may indicate allowed or assessed, not actual use; land cover alone (especially impervious) does not indicate actual use.

See the full datalayer description for more details.This feature service is best displayed at large (zoomed in) scales. Also available are a Map Service and a Tile Service (cache). The tile cache will display very quickly in in ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Desktop, and other applications that can consume tile services.

Flood Hatch ShapefilesIn addition to the three sets of rasters (Maximum Wave Heights, Water Surface Elevations, and DFEs) provided, separate shapefiles were also created to overlap and highlight special areas within the raster datasets produced for calculating DFEs. A flood hatch shapefile is not provided for every ACFEP level or for every region, but when it is provided, it encompasses the special areas for that level and region. The same hatch shapefile is applicable for all datatypes for the particular level and region. Flood hatch shapefiles encompass all areas of special values within the data rasters (including areas of 9999, 9998, and 9997 values). All regions have a 0.1% ACFEP level flood hatch shapefile because all 0.1% ACFEP rasters contain 9999 values.The flood hatch shapefiles contain individual polygons that describe the type of special area underlying that polygon’s spatial extent. For 9999 and 9998 values in the value rasters (water surface elevations, waves, and DFEs), the special hatched polygons will have the same extent of those values within those rasters. For 9997 values in the value rasters, the hatch polygon will always encompass the 9997 values, but may be larger in extent than just the location of those value cells. For these areas, water surface elevation, wave heights, and DFEs values may be provided, but they still represent a special zone.The Hatch polygons have 5 fields (Column headers) that describe each polygon within the shapefile. These fields include FID, Shape, Hatch_Type, Zones_txt, Hatch, and Hatch_Txt. The FID field contains an ID number for each polygon within that shapefile, while the Shape fieldlists the type of shapefile contained (polygon in all cases). The Hatch_Type field contains the numerical value that can be found within the value rasters (wave height, water surface, and DFE) underlying that polygon. Zones_txt and Hatch_txt are string type fields that contain descriptors of the polygon type, while the Hatch Field contains a numerical value for the type of hatching (1 for 0.1% Edge Zone, 2 for Wave Overtopping Zones, 3 for Dynamic Zone). The following table is an example of what a flood hatch file’s attribute table might look like.FIDShapeHatch_TypeZones_TxtHatchHatch_Txt0Polygon9999Shallow water flooding during extreme storms10.1% Edge Zone1Polygon9997Influenced by wave overtopping (incl. 9997 areas)2Wave Overtopping Zone2Polygon9998Dynamic Landform Areas3Dynamic ZoneSpecifically, the various hatch shapefiles can be defined as follows:• FID 0 Hatch Type – These represent areas of shallow water flooding during extreme storms. These are locations where flooding can only be expected during the most extreme events (> 1000-year return period) or where there are only minor flood depths (shallow flooding) during 1000-year return period AEP. These values only appear in 0.1% ACFEP level since they only occur at the very upper extent of extreme flooding. Water surface elevation values in these regions can be set to 0.1 foot above the site-specific land elevation to provide an estimate of the water surface elevation. Site-specific survey information may be needed to determine the land elevation. These hatch areas directly match areas with 9999 values within the rasters.• FID 1 Hatch Type – These represent wave overtopping zones. These hatch layers encompass the 9997 areas, but also include areas that have known values. Hatched areas of this type covering 9997 values would be expected to experience flooding caused by intermittent wave spray and overtopping only. Hatched areas of this type covering locations with values indicate that the flooding is caused by both direct sheet flow and wave overtopping. These hatched zones are provided for informational purposes by identifying zones that may require special design considerations for wave overtopping. Site-specific coastal processes analysis may also be required in these areas.• FID 2 Hatch Type – These represent areas where geomorphology is extremely dynamic and as such expected flooding may vary drastically. These values can appear in any ACFEP level. There are minimal locations of this type. These hatch areas directly match areas with 9998 values within the rasters.

The protected and recreational open space datalayer contains the boundaries of conservation lands and outdoor recreational facilities in Massachusetts. The associated database contains relevant information about each parcel, including ownership, level of protection, public accessibility, assessor’s map and lot numbers, and related legal interests held on the land, including conservation restrictions. Conservation and outdoor recreational facilities owned by federal, state, county, municipal, and nonprofit enterprises are included in this datalayer. Not all lands in this layer are protected in perpetuity, though nearly all have at least some level of protection.

Definitions of "Level of Protection" In Perpetuity (P)- Legally protected in perpetuity and recorded as such in a deed or other official document. Land is considered protected in perpetuity if it is owned by the town’s conservation commission or, sometimes, by the water department; if a town has a conservation restriction on the property in perpetuity; if it is owned by one of the state’s conservation agencies (thereby covered by article 97); if it is owned by a non-profit land trust; or if the town received federal or state assistance for the purchase or improvement of the property.Private land is considered protected if it has a deed restriction in perpetuity, if an Agriculture Preservation Restriction has been placed on it, or a Conservation Restriction has been placed on it.Temporary (T) - Legally protected for less than perpetuity (e.g. short term conservation restriction), or temporarily protected through an existing functional use. For example, some water district lands are only temporarily protected while water resource protection is their primary use.These lands could be developed for other uses at the end of their temporary protection or when their functional use is no longer necessary. These lands will revert to unprotected status at a given date unless protection status is extended.Limited (L) - Protected by legal mechanisms other than those above, or protected through functional or traditional use.These lands might be protected by a requirement of a majority municipal vote for any change in status. This designation also includes lands that are likely to remain open space for other reasons (e.g. cemeteries and municipal golf courses).None (N) - Totally unprotected by any legal or functional means. This land is usually privately owned and could be sold without restriction at any time for another use (e.g. scout camps, private golf course, and private woodland).More details...Feature layer is also available.

This layer is the most accurate representation of Massachusetts' municipal (city and town) boundaries; this representation is based on the legislatively approved record of municipal boundaries. Authoritative determination of municipal boundary locations can only be provided by a licensed land surveyor.

This political boundary datalayer has been created from latitude and longitude coordinates found in the 68-volume Harbor and Lands Commission Town Boundary Atlas. This Atlas series, and updates since it was published, describes the legal boundary for each of the 351 municipalities in Massachusetts. These coordinates were recorded from surveys of the location of each boundary marker around the periphery of each community. Each survey was tied into higher order monumented survey control points. The Atlases also include detailed descriptions of each community's boundary and location maps for each of the original boundary marker locations. The original surveys were conducted in the 1890s. 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.See complete metadata.

This Map Service published by MassGIS represents Mouth of River (MOR) lines for Massachusetts coastal rivers originally published by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) on March 1, 2005 as PDF maps. The PDF maps identify the mouth of the river for coastal rivers in order to provide a clear, consistent, and predictable means of locating all river mouths in the Commonwealth. They are the final MOR maps for each community and represent the culmination of a year's effort that included distribution of draft maps for public comment, receipt and review of over 100 written comments, and field surveys for many of the more difficult mouth of river lines. Each Massachusetts coastal community received a set of maps corresponding to the rivers in their community.

The MOR map lines are intended to

identify where a river ends pursuant to 310 CMR 10.58(2)(c). As provided in 310 CMR 10.58(2)(c) "When a river flows into coastal waters or an embayment, the river shall end at the mouth of coastal river line as delineated on the current mouth of coastal river map series maintained by the Department." represent the limit of Riverfront Area jurisdiction under the Wetlands Protection Act. Land upstream of the MOR line includes Riverfront Areas subject to the protections afforded by the Wetlands regulations; any land seaward of the MOR line is not subject to jurisdiction as a Riverfront Area but remains subject to other inland and coastal provisions of the Wetlands Protection Act.By adopting a uniform approach to mapping river mouths, this data should reduce the need for individual MOR delineations and in turn provide a predictable means for project review for landowners, conservation commissions and MassDEP.See full metadataAlso see the Feature Service.

Releases of oil and/or hazardous material to the environment are required to be reported to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s (MassDEP) Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup (BWSC), in accordance with M.G.L. Chapter 21E and procedures established within the Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP) (310 CMR 40.0000).The sites mapped in this datalayer represent only a subset of the total reported release sites tracked by MassDEP Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup (BWSC).An AUL provides notice of the presence of oil and/or hazardous material contamination remaining at the location after a cleanup has been conducted pursuant to Chapter 21E and the MCP. The AUL is a legal document that identifies activities and uses of the property that may and may not occur, as well as the property owner’s obligation and maintenance conditions that must be followed to ensure the safe use of the property. The complete AUL is filed at the County Registry of Deeds office for the respective City/Town. In addition, a copy of the AUL is available in MassDEP BWSC site files and in City/Town Offices where the AUL is located.Location types featured in this datalayer include the approximate center of an AUL site, the center of a building on the property where the release occurred, the approximate center of the lot, and source of contamination.Under Massachusetts’ privatized waste site cleanup program, data maintained by MassDEP regarding site location is provided by Responsible Parties (RP), Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) and by Licensed site Professionals (LSPs), who work for the RPs and PRPs.Anyone wishing to view an AUL site file can make arrangements with the respective MassDEP Regional Office through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The MassDEP encourages persons to review these site files when they make decisions that consider a specific site.More details...Map service also available.