City: Boston
State: Massachusetts
Best Cities Overall Rank: 30
About Boston: Boston is home to the country's first public school.
Boston is a center of education, from the Boston Public Library to the many historical buildings. The city has drastically reduced violent crime rates since the 1990s. In 2002, Forbes Magazine ranked the Boston Public Schools as the best large city school system in the country. Some of the important industries are financial services, schools, and high-tech industries. Boston's unemployment rate is slightly below the national average.
County: Suffolk
Population: 609,023
Official website for city visitors' bureau/city: Visitor's bureau website
Newspaper with the largest circulation: The Boston Globe
Boston blogs: Boston Mamas, Multitasking Mommy, In the Parenthood
Boston's Facebook page: Follow Boston on Facebook
Boston's Twitter page: Follow Boston on Twitter
Education rank: 3
High School graduation rate 2008: 59.89%
Blue Ribbon Schools, 2003-2009: 0
Blue Ribbon Schools per 100,000 people: 0
NEAYC-accredited preschools: 24
NAEYC schools per 100,000 people: 3.94
NAEP State proficiency reading, grade 8: 274
Pupil/Teacher Ratio: 12.8
Total Expenditures Per Student: $20,458
Health rank: 21
Quality children's hospitals: 3
Hospitals per 100,000 people: 0.49
Quality Pediatricians: 25
Quality Pediatricians per 100,000: 4.1
Average number of Unhealthy Air Quality days between 2006-2008, by county: 0
Safety rank: 32
Violent Crimes, 2008: 6676
Violent Crime Rate per 100,000: 1096.18
Sex Offenders: 254
Sex Offenders per 100,000: 41.71
Economy rank: 57
Travel time to work, 2006-2008, in minutes: 28.6
Percent of labor force unemployed, January 2010: 9.3
Best Performing Cities Job Index: 790.41
Median Home Sale Price: $326,300
5-Year Home Value Index: -3.33%
Percent of homes sold for a loss: 22.34%
Recreation Rank: 92
Parkland acreage, 2008 (includes pools and playgrounds): 1934
Parkland per 100,000: 317.56
