These maps show Boston’s wealthiest and most populous neighborhoods — plus other key trends

[Anthony D'Isidoro]

These maps show Boston’s wealthiest and most populous neighborhoods — plus other key trends (Neena Hagen, Boston Globe: March 3, 2026)

Boston is often described as a city of neighborhoods, each with its own distinct identity and history. But the latest census data show those distinctions also reflect deep divides in income, race, and housing that continue to shape life across the city.

The figures come from the US Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey, which pools five years of responses to generate estimates. They offer the clearest snapshot of Boston’s demographic and economic landscape.

The Globe mapped the data at the neighborhood level to illustrate how population, wealth, age, and immigration patterns vary across the city.

Boston’s population center

Dorchester remains by far the largest Boston neighborhood in both population and land area, with more than 126,000 residents — nearly a fifth of Boston’s total population. The next most populous neighborhood, Roxbury, has fewer than half as many residents, at roughly 50,000. Bay Village is the smallest, with about 1,600.

Total population by neighborhood

	Population	White	Black	Asian	Hispanic
Dorchester	126,527	23.6%	36.0%	9.8%	22.1%
Roxbury	50,658	17.9%	42.9%	5.4%	29.4%
Brighton	48,045	61.3%	6.3%	17.8%	9.7%
Jamaica Plain	41,561	60.8%	13.1%	5.8%	20.7%
South Boston	36,766	77.6%	4.1%	6.4%	10.5%
Hyde Park	35,895	29.2%	43.4%	2.0%	27.5%
East Boston	34,763	38.7%	4.0%	3.8%	52.0%
Fenway	33,093	54.3%	6.0%	24.0%	13.0%
West Roxbury	31,557	65.1%	11.4%	8.0%	11.0%
Roslindale	30, 018	51.5%	19.6%	3.7%	21.2%
South End	29,435	57.7%	10.3%	15.8%	10.8%
Mattapan	27,932	8,1%	69.8%	1.4%	17.0%
Allston	21,650	55.2%	7.9%	21.7%	12.6%
Charlestown	20,032	72.1%	6.2%	8.4%	9.5%
Back Bay	16,912	72.6%	3.8%	11.7%	8.5%
Mission Hill	15,427	43.4%	13.1%	22.7%	20.4%
Downtown	13,582	60.4%	5.7%	24.2%	7.8%
North End	9,436	89.4%	3.1%	3.4%	3.7%
West End	8,249	61.3%	4.7%	15.2%	12.9%
Beacon Hill	8,026	89.1%	0.5%	3.6%	4.8%
South Boston Waterfront	6,680	81.6%	3.2%	8.5%	2.3%
Longwood	5,317	63.9%	5.8%	13.7%	15.1%
Chinatown	4,647	25.4%	2.1%	57.4%	14.6%
Bay Village	1,623	65.1%	5.5%	16.8%	10.3%

 

For this analysis, the Globe used neighborhood boundaries created by the city that align with census tracts, allowing for more precise comparisons across communities.

While Boston has been a majority-minority city since the turn of the century, many of its neighborhoods remain racially segregated, the latest data show.

In Mattapan, roughly 92 percent of residents identify as people of color, including about 70 percent who identify as Black. The overall racial composition has remained relatively stable over the past decade, though the neighborhood has seen growth in Haitian and Latino immigrant communities.

East Boston has the highest share of Latino residents, at just over half of its population. It also has by far the highest share of residents who identify as multiracial — about 43 percent, more than twice the next-highest neighborhood, Dorchester.

By contrast, the North End and Beacon Hill have the highest shares of white residents, each at nearly 90 percent.

Wealth clusters in select neighborhoods

Massachusetts is the richest state in the country, but Boston’s prosperity is unevenly distributed. The share of households earning more than $200,000 a year — the top income tier in census data — varies widely.

Boston's wealth gap: Seaport has the largest share of top earners

Percentage of households making $200,000 or more

South Boston Waterfront	44.2%
South Boston	41.8%
Beacon Hill	41.0%
Charlestown	40.7%
Bay Village	38.1%
South End	35.5%
Downtown	35.0%
Back Bay	34.6%
West End	32.7%
West Roxbury	30.2%
Jamaica Plain	29.1%
Roslindale	23.1%
East Boston	18.8%
North End	18.6%
Dorchester	15.4%
Hyde Park	14.9%
Chinatown	14.1%
Mattapan	13.7%
Brighton	13.5%
Allston	10.8%
Fenway	9.8%
Roxbury	8.9%
Longwood	8.1%
Mission Hill	7.1%

 

The Seaport, also known as the South Boston Waterfront, has the highest concentration of high-income households, with more than 40 percent earning above that threshold. The neighborhood is also one of Boston’s fastest-growing areas, filled with luxury towers, high-end offices, and new retail development.

Buildings in the Seaport account for roughly one-tenth of Boston’s property tax base. But rising sea levels and increasing flood risk threaten that concentration of wealth.

South Boston and Charlestown were long considered working-class neighborhoods, but now rank close behind Seaport in the share of wealthy residents — a dramatic transformation in recent decades. Mission Hill and Longwood have the lowest shares of high earners.

Shrinking child population

The share of children has been declining for years in Boston and across Massachusetts, contributing to a drop of about 70,000 public school students over the past two decades — an 8 percent decline statewide.

Neighborhoods with the most — and least — children

	Under 18	Over 65
West Roxbury	22.0%	19.3%
Dorchester	21.7%	13.0%
Mattapan	21.4%	15.6%
Roslindale	20.6%	16.7%
Charlestown	19.7%	14.1%
Hyde Park	19.4%	18.3%
Roxbury	18.0%	13.2%
East Boston	17.6%	8.0%
Jamaica Plain	16.3%	13.9%
Chinatown	15.9%	12.4%
South End	13.6%	15.1%
West End	10.0%	13.6%
Bay Village	9.9%	19.2%
South Boston	9.9%	9.7%
Mission Hill	8.6%	11.0%
Brighton	7.3%	12.7%
Beacon Hill	7.0%	17.0%
Allston	5.6%	4.5%
South Boston Waterfront	5.4%	7.9%
Downtown	4.5%	19.7%
Back Bay	4.3%	16.9%
North End	3.9%	11.4%
Fenway	3.4%	6.2%
Longwood	2.7%	0.4%

 

The highest concentrations of residents under 18 are clustered in the southern part of the city, including Dorchester, Mattapan, and West Roxbury, where children make up just over 20 percent of the population.

Longwood has the smallest share of children, at about 2.7 percent, along with other neighborhoods closer to downtown, such as the North End and Back Bay.

Renters outnumber owners

More than six in 10 housing units in Boston are renter-occupied, and renters are especially concentrated in the city’s densest and most student-heavy neighborhoods.

In Chinatown, more than 90 percent of occupied housing units are renter-occupied — the highest share in the city. Allston and Fenway are close behind.

Tenant city: Boston's rental strongholds

Percentage of renter-occupied housing units

	Renters
Chinatown	91.8%
Mission Hill	90.2%
Fenway	89.6%
Allston	88.8%
Longwood	88,7%
West End	83.6%
North End	77.5%
Brighton	77.1%
South Boston Waterfront	76.6%
Roxbury	75.5%
East Boston	69.4%
Back Bay	68.4%
Downtown	65.8%
Dorchester	62.6%
South End	62.5%
Bay Village	61.3%
Beacon Hill	59.5%
Jamaica Plain	57.5%
South Boston	54.7%
Mattapan	54.5%
Charlestown	49.5%
Roslindale	41.8%
Hyde Park	40.0%
West Roxbury	38.8%

 

In contrast, more residential neighborhoods on the city’s outskirts, including Hyde Park and West Roxbury, have renter shares of 40 percent or less.

The city’s global neighborhoods

Boston’s population has fluctuated in recent years, particularly during the COVID pandemic, but several neighborhoods have seen large infusions of Asian and Latino residents that are reshaping parts of the city.

Chinatown and East Boston have the highest shares of foreign-born residents — about 51 percent and 45 percent, respectively. In Chinatown, many foreign-born residents are of Asian origin; in East Boston, most are Latino.

Where the largest share of foreign-born residents live

	Foreign Born
Chinatown	51.3%
East Boston	44.6%
Mattapan	41.1%
Dorchester	34.5%
Allston	31.3%
West End	29.9%
Hyde Park	28.5%
Downtown	28.1%
Mission Hill	27.9%
Roxbury	27.6%
Brighton	27.4%
Fenway	27.0%
Bay Village	24.9%
South End	24.4%
Roslindale	23.7%
South Boston Waterfront	22.5%
Jamaica Plain	21.0%
Back Bay	20.5%
West Roxbury	19.7%
Beacon Hill	15.2%
South Boston	13.6%
Charlestown	13.1%
Longwood	12.8%
North End	9.0%