Boston is the capital as well as the most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States, and the 21st most heavily populated city in the United States. The city proper covers 49 square miles (127 km2) with an estimated population of 694,583 in 2018, also making it the most populated city in New England. Boston is the seat of Suffolk Region also, although the region government was disbanded on July 1, 1999. The city is the economic and also social support of a considerably larger city referred to as Greater Boston, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) house to a census-estimated 4.8 million people in 2016 and also ranking as the tenth-largest such location in the country. As a consolidated statistical location (CSA), this broader traveling area is home to some 8.2 million people, making it the 6th most populated in the United States.

Boston has a long history in the USA, founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan inhabitants from the English community of the very same name. It was the scene of several essential events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Carnage, the Boston Tea Ceremony, the Fight of Shelter Hill, and also the Siege of Boston. Upon acquiring U.S. independence from Wonderful Britain, it continued to be an essential part and also a manufacturing center in addition to a facility for education as well as society. The city has actually broadened past the original peninsula via land recovery and also local addition. Its abundant history brings in numerous visitors, with Faneuil Hall alone drawing greater than 20 million site visitors each year. Boston's many firsts include the USA' initial public park (Boston Common, 1634), initial public or state school (Boston Latin Institution, 1635) as well as very first subway system (Tremont Street Train, 1897).

Today, Boston is a successful facility of a clinical research study in addition to the port of entry for commerce as well as international immigration. The Boston location's numerous schools make it a world leader in college, including law, medicine, design, and company, as well as the city, which is taken into consideration to be a global pioneer in innovation and also entrepreneurship, with nearly 5,000 start-ups. Boston's economic base additionally includes finance, expert and also company solutions, biotechnology, infotech, as well as government activities. Homes in the city declare the highest typical rate of philanthropy in the United States; organizations and also establishments place amongst the top in the country for ecological sustainability as well as investment. The city has among the greatest expenses of staying in the United States as it has undergone gentrification, though it continues to be high on globe livability positions.