Research Publications

This report delves into the implications of the 2020 Census's revised approach to collecting and processing race and ethnicity data. This methodological change, entailing the reclassification of respondents based on their origin, resulted in substantial growth in the "two or more races" category. Executed without respondents' consent, the reclassification distorts demographic analysis and undermines the reliability of Census data. The City of Boston has filed an official complaint to the US Census Bureau protesting this race reclassification scheme.

A presentation exploring the employment, earnings, and occupational representation of Boston’s workers with disabilities as well as national trends in disability reporting and labor force participation. A summarizing infographic is available here.

A presentation describing college student demographics as well as the economic contributions of, and future concerns for, higher education in Boston. A summarizing infographic is available here.

Prepared for Age Strong for use in Celebrating What Unites Us!, a collaborative program to celebrate the immigrant experience, build community and cross-cultural understanding, and promote healthy living for aging residents of the City of Boston. The thumbnail image above provides a PDF of all the presentations, while the following links provide access to individual community presentations.

• Celebrating What Unites Us: Cape Verdeans in Boston
• Celebrating What Unites Us: Haitians in Boston
• Celebrating What Unites Us: Somalis and Ugandans in Boston

A presentation exploring the economic contributions and demographics of Boston's foreign born workers and students.

Boston at a Glance is a demographic fact sheet for the city of Boston. The 2023 update uses current U.S. Census data from the American Community Survey including ACS 2017-2021 5-year estimates.

A presentation on historical trends in Boston’s neighborhoods between 1950 and 2020, with a focus on population, housing, age distribution, race & ethnicity, nativity, educational attainment, and labor force participation.

A look at Boston's neighborhood through Decennial Census Data from 1950-2020.

This Historical Boston in Context document compares how Boston, Boston’s neighborhoods, Massachusetts, and the United States changed demographically between 1950 and 2021. It uses data from the United States Census Bureau’s Decennial Censuses and American Community Surveys.

This presentation recounts the history of redlining and the interlocking set of housing policies that helped create contemporary patterns of wealth and segregation. It assesses the impacts of these policies on people and places in Boston using contemporary and historical data. Our focus is on the connections between Black people and place in Boston and how policy’s focus has impacted those connections over time.