Comprehensive demographic dataset for Roxbury, Boston, MA, US including population statistics, household income, housing units, education levels, employment data, and transportation with year-over-year changes.

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.

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

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 Shootings dashboard contains information on shooting incidents where a victim was struck by a bullet, either fatally or non-fatally; that occurred in the City of Boston and fall under Boston Police Department jurisdiction. The dashboard does not contain records for self-inflicted gunshot wounds or shootings determined to be justifiable. Information on the incident, and the demographics of victims are included. This information is updated based on analysis conducted by the Boston Regional Intelligence Center under the Boston Police Department Bureau of Intelligence and Analysis. The data is for 2015 forward, with a 7 day rolling delay to allow for analysis and data entry to occur.

Find Massachusetts health data by community, county, and region, including population demographics. Build custom data reports with over 100 health and social determinants of health data indicators and explore over 28,000 current and historical data layers in the map room.