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

Please note this page provides neighborhood demographic data using 2010 Census tracts. For updated Neighborhood Demographics using 2020 Census tracts consistently across historical years, please refer to the Planning Department Research Division's Exploring Neighborhood Change Tool. The tool visualizes demographic, economic, and housing data for Boston's tracts and neighborhoods from 1950 to 2025 (with projections to 2035) using the most up-to-date 2020 Census tract-based Neighborhood boundaries.

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.

As part of the Boston University-led, Urban Long-Term Research Area - Exploratory Award (ULTRA-Ex), we established 135 circular, 15 m radius biometric plots extending across two Boston urban-to-rural gradients (Boston MA to Petersham MA and Boston MA to Worcester MA). The plots were stratified based on neighborhood (1 km2 surrounding area) characteristics for population density, impervious surface area fraction, and land cover. Within each plot we measured aboveground live and dead biomass, species characteristics, ground cover characteristics, and soil properties.

Modelling population density over time: how spatial distance matters. Regional Studies. This study provides an empirical application of the Bayesian approach for modelling the evolution of population density distribution across time. It focuses on the case of Massachusetts by tracking changes in the importance of spatial distance from Boston concerning citizens’ choices of residence according to data for 1880–90 and 1930–2010. By adopting a Bayesian strategy, results show that Boston reinforced its attractiveness until the 1960s, when the city's accessibility no longer represented the unique determinant of population density distribution. Referring to selected historical evidence, a few possible interpretations are presented to endorse these results.

This dataverse repository contains data from May to November of 2014 at fifteen locations across Metropolitan Boston for (1) throughfall nitrogen, (2) fossil fuel carbon dioxide emissions, (3) human population density, (4) land cover class, (5) ISA, (6) soil solution nitrogen and soil nitrogen cycling rates (mineralization and nitrification) and (7) soil respiration. Details of the methodology are provided in the following publications. Decina SM, PH Templer, LR Hutyra, CK Gately, P Rao. 2017. Variability, drivers, and effects of atmospheric nitrogen inputs across an urban area: emerging patterns among human activities, the atmosphere and soils. Science of the Total Environment 609:1524-1534. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.07.166 Decina S, LR Hutyra, CK Gately, JM Getson, AB Reinmann, AG Short Gianotti, and PH Templer. 2016. Soil respiration contributes significantly to urban carbon fluxes. Environmental Pollution 212:433-439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2016.01.012