The city of Boston is the nations 24th largest city with an estimated population of around 600,000 individuals. The Boston metropolitan area supports more than 4.4 million inhabitants, making it the 11th biggest within the United States based on the census. Boston has been called "The Hub," and "Beantown." It makes up the largest city within the state of Massachusetts and New England, that consists of New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The city of Boston is the capital city of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The city is situated on the eastern Massachusetts shore. It is situated on the Boston Harbor at the mouth of the Charles River. This river divides Cambridge from the city of Boston.
In 1630, Puritan colonists from England established the city of Boston. Most early settlers were Puritans and they placed their strong ethic on the city. People who came to Boston were not very tolerant of different religions. Thus, a lot of the nearby colonies were established by people who were fleeing persecution from the Puritans.
The city of Boston along with the region surrounding the city, is affluent in early American colonial history. There is likewise much history of the American Revolution within the area. The Revolutionary War started within Concord and Lexington, Massachusetts, outside of Boston.
Boston's economy is really dependent upon health care, and finance, biotechnology and software and computer technology. The Life-Sciences sector represents a minimum of one in six jobs in the city of Boston too. The economy of the area is largely impacted by the education industry. Among the major companies comprise high technology industries and educational institutions which act as incubators for a variety of the up and coming companies within the area.
There is a really educated labor force in the Metropolitan Boston region. The area ranks in the top 16% nationally for college educated individuals when compared across the USA to similar sized cities. Individuals who have a bachelors degree or higher in the city of Boston are in excess of 35% based on data from the U.S. Department of Commerce recorded during the year 2000. This higher education attainment rate ranks Boston 5th among big cities within the United States for bachelor's degree holders. The rate is even higher in the area surrounding Boston and here, it is not uncommon to see higher education attainment rates up to 40 percent.
Lots of federal agencies hold their regional headquarters in Boston because it is the capital city. Government is a large part of the economic sector around and in the city. Port Boston is among the oldest fishing and industrial ports in North America. It serves as a major east coast seaport.
Eastern Massachusetts and Boston are tourist locations drawing numerous visitors to their American Revolution and colonial history. The city boasts four notable convention centres, including the Boston Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Bayside Expo centre, the Hynes Convention Centre and the World Trade Centre Boston.