Research Publications

Check out our new series on the largest industries in the City of Boston, that contains facts including employment, major employers, education, and more.

Boston's economy presented in a series of graphs showing Boston's share of Massachusetts' jobs, goods and services, and tax revenues.

This report for 2007 presents the major economic, real estate market, and demographic trends for the city and region. Much of the data in this report extends through year-end 2006 and into the first quarter of 2007.

Higher Education, a leading industry in Boston, is a source of economic, social and cultural strength. However, housing markets get pressure from students’ demand for on-campus dormitories and by intensive use of off-campus neighborhood apartments. This report summarizes survey results from the University Accountability Ordinance, a Boston City Council requirement mandating all private colleges with resident students to report both student enrollment and neighborhood location twice annually.

Boston's Neighborhood Business Patterns examines patterns in private sector employment by neighborhood. It identifies Boston's leading industries, employers and the geographical location of businesses and jobs in the city. The intention of this report is to provide an overview of business concentration patterns at both the city and neighborhood levels and to provide detailed economic data that would further facilitate the implementation of informed policy making.

From 1990 to the present, Boston's supermarkets that range from small-scale specialty to mid-sized grocery stores and "super-sized" retailers have served have served Boston's neighborhoods in unique and vital ways. This report chronicles the evolution of the supermarket in Boston and how it stands today.

This report analyzes the potential short-term impact on the state's budget and the long-term impact on the state's economy of the proposed legislation to allow undocumented immigrant students to qualify for in-state tuition rates at Massachusetts colleges and universities.

Boston’s economy is once more showing signs of steady growth and of recovery from a regional economic recession after four years of a slow economy.

The Research Division created an innovative analysis of Boston's creative economy, defined as those activities which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have the potential for wealth and job creation.

For over a century, Downtown Crossing has been an important economic engine for the City of Boston. Today, under the leadership of Mayor Menino and strong public-private partnerships, it is evolving into a vibrant mixed-use district.