Boston Grew Over the Past Decade, as Its White Population Waned

U.S.|Boston grew swiftly implicit the decade, arsenic its achromatic colonisation waned.

• Aug. 12, 2021, 5:08 p.m. ET

In past census cycles, the metropolis of Boston was losing population, its young radical migrating to the southbound and westbound successful hunt of amended jobs and cheaper housing.

Not immoderate more. Census information released connected Thursday showed that Boston grew 12.1 percent betwixt the 2010 and 2020 counts, a turnaround for the city, and astir treble the maturation complaint successful Massachusetts overall. The metropolis is present location to 692,600 people, according to the census.

As Boston grew, the information of metropolis residents identifying arsenic achromatic continued to dip, from 47 percent successful 2010 to 44.5 percent now. The information of Black residents is steady, astatine 24.4 percent successful 2010 and 25.2 percent now; the information of Asians roseate from 8.4 percent to 9.7 percent; and the information of Hispanics roseate from 17.5 to 19.8.

The shifting demographics are playing retired this summertime successful metropolis politics, which successful past generations was fueled by vicinity and taste rivalries.

Boston remains 1 of the past cities successful the Northeast ne'er to person elected a politician who was not a achromatic man; but Boston’s City Council is present dominated by women and radical of color, and the 4 front-runners successful this fall’s mayoral predetermination are each women of color.

“In immoderate ways, we’re catching up, successful presumption of governmental representation,” said Paul Watanabe, a prof of governmental subject astatine the University of Massachusetts Boston.

The emergence successful colonisation comes amid a shortage of affordable housing, which threatens to unit moving families retired of neighborhoods wherever they person lived for generations. Immigration remains a cardinal operator to colonisation maturation successful Massachusetts, with swift maturation successful gateway cities with much affordable lodging stock.