† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
20042024
Boundary by 2024 margin · Precinct returns · VEST · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupBostonMassachusettsUnited States
Irish13.3%18.6%9.4%
Italian8.7%11.1%4.8%
English5.6%9.7%9.5%
German4.8%5.4%12.5%
American2.4%3.3%5.3%
Polish2.3%3.4%2.2%
French1.7%4.7%1.6%
Scottish1.2%—1.3%
African American†9.5%2.6%9.9%
Haitian3.4%1.1%0.3%
Cape Verdean1.9%0.9%—
Jamaican1.8%0.5%0.4%
Trinidadian and Tobagonian0.8%——
Nigerian0.7%0.2%0.2%
African0.6%0.3%0.5%
Barbadian0.5%——
Dominican4.7%2.7%0.7%
Puerto Rican3.4%4.6%1.8%
Salvadoran3.0%1.1%0.7%
Colombian2.0%0.6%0.4%
Guatemalan1.2%0.8%0.5%
Mexican1.0%0.8%11.3%
Honduran0.9%—0.3%
Cuban0.2%0.2%0.7%
Chinese4.5%2.5%1.3%
Asian Indian1.8%1.9%1.4%
Vietnamese1.8%0.8%0.6%
Korean0.7%0.4%0.4%
Filipino0.3%0.2%0.9%
Cambodian0.2%0.4%—
Taiwanese0.2%——
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Boston
Massachusetts
United States
Median age
33.3
40.3
39.1
Age 18–24
14.8%
9.9%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
13.0%
17.9%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Boston
Massachusetts
United States
Median household income
$97,344
$103,960
$84,427
Poverty rate
16.6%
10.1%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
54.9%
47.3%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Boston
Massachusetts
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
35.6%
25.1%
22.3%
Spanish
15.4%
9.7%
13.6%
French (incl. Cajun & Haitian)
4.2%
1.9%
0.7%
Other Indo-European
4.7%
6.1%
2.0%
Chinese (incl. Mandarin & Cantonese)
4.1%
2.2%
1.1%
Religious landscape
Measure
Boston
Massachusetts
United States
Catholic
—
35.5%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
—
3.6%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
—
51.4%
51.5%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Boston, Massachusetts
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2004–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
2004
+57.1%
2008
+59.8%
2012
+59.6%
2016
+66.7%
2020
+67.2%
2024
+56.4%
DemocraticRepublican
6 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year. Third-party votes in 2012 are allocated from certified county totals by this place's share of each county's two-party vote — that cycle's precinct source records two-party splits. † 2004 sub-county results are estimated: the source's block-level detail for this cycle was unreliable — either county/municipality-level consolidated reporting (COVID-era) or a precinct-to-block allocation that misplaced votes — so the figures are allocated from the constituent county totals in proportion to the place and scaled to certified totals.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
D
76.0%Harris201,628
19.5%Trump51,808
4.5%
D+56.4
R+10.7
D+57.9
265,413
D
82.6%Biden242,717
15.5%Trump45,425
1.9%
D+67.2
D+0.5
D+62.7
293,796
D
80.6%Clinton221,093
13.9%Trump38,087
5.6%
D+66.7
D+7.1
D+64.6
274,429
D
78.9%Obama200,767
19.3%Romney49,174
1.8%
D+59.6
R+0.3
D+55.7
254,522
D
79.2%Obama185,977
19.4%McCain45,548
1.4%
D+59.8
D+2.7
D+52.5
234,783
D
77.9%Kerry163,939
20.8%Bush43,782
1.3%
D+57.1
—
D+59.6
210,429
Boston's electorate is shaped by one of the highest concentrations of university students and graduate researchers in the country, compressing Republican performance citywide while neighborhood-level turnout gaps between Roxbury and Back Bay remain a persistent story.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 67.2 points in 2020. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 10.7 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 56.4 points.
A population of 666,442, a 45% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $97,344 describe the city. The city's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Denver and Washington.
Akashic
Political twins — cities
The cities whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
In 2024, Boston, Massachusetts voted Democratic by 56.4 points (D+56.4), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 265,413 votes cast, 201,628 went Democratic and 51,808 went Republican.
How many people live in Boston, Massachusetts?
Boston, Massachusetts has a population of 666,442 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Boston, Massachusetts?
Median household income in Boston, Massachusetts is $97,344 — above the national median of $80,734. The Massachusetts state median is $103,960.
What is the political history of Boston, Massachusetts?
Akashic tracks 6 presidential elections in Boston, Massachusetts from 2004 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 0 went Republican.
