Home to 4.95 million people, Boston, MA is the 11th-largest of the 387 US metropolitan areas. This page lays out the income and housing picture and a trade-by-trade look at the competition.
Its principal cities are Boston, Cambridge and Newton; the metro crosses into New Hampshire.
For housing, the median value is $646,300, 94 percent above the national figure. Households here bring in a median of $115,863, 44 percent above the national figure.
The household mix in brief. Homeownership is 61.6% here, 4 points below the US share; that is the pool of people who hire roofers, plumbers and landscapers rather than calling a landlord. Unemployment 4.9%, about the same as the US share. Among adults 25 and over, 51.9% have at least a bachelor's degree, 16 points above the US share. The median age is 39.3, about the same as the national median, so this is a older market than the country as a whole.
Boston, MA versus Massachusetts: income 11 percent higher than the Massachusetts figure, home values 15 percent higher than the Massachusetts figure, business density 3 percent denser than the Massachusetts figure.
There are 133,807 employer businesses in Boston, MA. That works out to 27 businesses per 1,000 residents, 8 percent above the national figure (the national rate is 25 per 1,000). The home-services slice is 7,951 establishments, 5.9% of the base, 1 points above the US share. The busiest category listed below is restaurants (10,567 establishments).
| Category | Locations | Per 100k people | Local ÷ US share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highway, street and bridge construction | 145 | 2.9 | 0.98× |
| Concrete foundation and structure contractors | 187 | 3.8 | 0.50× |
| Self-storage facilities | 257 | 5.2 | 0.87× |
| Roofing contractors | 292 | 5.9 | 0.72× |
| Other specialty trade contractors (paving, asphalt, fencing) | 614 | 12.4 | 0.90× |
| Automobile dealers | 696 | 14.1 | 0.92× |
| General freight trucking | 758 | 15.3 | 0.40× |
| General automotive repair | 1,236 | 25 | 0.91× |
| Child day care services | 1,766 | 35.7 | 1.34× |
| Electrical contractors | 1,813 | 36.6 | 1.36× |
| Lessors of real estate (all) | 1,889 | 38.1 | 0.86× |
| Beauty salons | 2,025 | 40.9 | 1.50× |
| Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors | 2,169 | 43.8 | 1.22× |
| Grocery and convenience retailers | 2,168 | 43.8 | 1.36× |
| Physicians' offices | 2,237 | 45.2 | 0.64× |
| Dentists | 2,419 | 48.8 | 1.11× |
| Landscaping services | 2,876 | 58.1 | 1.52× |
| Legal services | 3,091 | 62.4 | 1.07× |
| Personal care services (all) | 3,694 | 74.6 | 1.44× |
| Restaurants and other eating places | 10,567 | 213.3 | 1.07× |
Reading the index: 1.00 matches the national mix, 1.50 means half again as common here, 0.50 half as common.
More common here than nationally: landscaping services, beauty salons, personal care services and electrical contractors. At the top of that list, landscaping services number 2,876, 1.5 times the US share. Fewer than the national pattern would suggest: general freight trucking, concrete contractors, physicians' offices and roofing contractors. With 758 locations, general freight trucking sit at about 40% of the national share. Close to the national mix: specialty trade contractors, road and paving contractors and general automotive repair.
In absolute numbers restaurants lead with 10,567, followed by personal care services at 3,694 and legal services at 3,091. Per resident the densest are restaurants at 213.3 per 100,000 people, then personal care services and legal services. By sector, the home-services trades are the most over-represented at 1.2 times the US share; trucking, storage, real estate and road construction are the least, at about 68% of.
When landscaping services, beauty salons and personal care services are this common, customers compare. That makes the review profile and the speed of the first reply the deciding factors, and it makes conversion tracking essential so budget flows to the searches that turn into booked work. Where the base is thin (general freight trucking, concrete contractors and physicians' offices), reach beats refinement: cover the service-plus-place searches across the whole area, because there are few competitors to split them with. A 61.6% ownership rate, under the national share, shifts part of the home-services market to landlords and management companies. Incomes 44 percent above the national figure give room for premium service tiers; ads that lead with quality and speed rather than price tend to fit. A median age about the same as the national median means a larger share of customers who still start with a Google search and read reviews before calling, so the search-plus-reviews stack earns its keep.
Six places to begin in Boston, MA; the complete list is one click away.
A fast site with the services, the area served and a clear way to call or book.
A site assistant that answers questions and captures the lead at any hour.
Email automation for the customer list.
Campaigns on Google fenced to the service area and judged on booked work.
Management of the Google listing that decides the map pack.
Pages that answer the specific services-plus-place searches people in Boston, MA use, built to be found.
Boston, MA has 4.95 million residents (US Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimate), ranking 11th of 387 metropolitan areas.
The median household income in Boston, MA is $115,863 (ACS 2024 5-year), above the US median of $80,734.
The Census Bureau counts 133,807 employer establishments in Boston, MA (County Business Patterns 2023), or 27 businesses per 1,000 residents.
The median home value in Boston, MA is $646,300, and 61.6% of homes are owner-occupied (ACS 2024 5-year).
Measured against the US business mix (County Business Patterns 2023), landscaping services, beauty salons and personal care services have more establishments per resident than the US average; general freight trucking, concrete contractors and physicians' offices have fewer in Boston, MA.
Start with the free audit: it checks the listing, the site and the tracking before anyone spends anything.
Data: US Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimates and County Business Patterns 2023. Updated 2026-09-29.