Boston is not a US state. It is a city in Massachusetts. Boston is also the state capital, which is unusual for a famous American city, but the state itself is Massachusetts and the state code is MA.
Boston and Massachusetts, side by side
| Is Boston a state? | No, it is a city |
|---|---|
| State it belongs to | Massachusetts |
| USPS state code | MA |
| State capital | Boston |
| Largest city in the state | Boston |
| Region | Northeast (New England) |
| Admitted to the Union | 1788, one of the original 13 |
| State nickname | Bay State |
| Time zone | Eastern |
| Electoral votes | 11 |
Why people ask if Boston is a state
Boston is the rare case where the usual correction never arrives. With Miami or Charlotte, somebody tells you the capital and the state name lands in your head as a side effect. Ask for the capital of Massachusetts and the answer is Boston again, so nothing ever forces the longer word into the conversation.
The rest of the confusion has three sources:
- Massachusetts is long and hard to spell. Thirteen letters with a double s and a double t. In speech and in typing, Boston quietly does the state's job, and repetition turns the shortcut into a belief.
- New England competes for the same slot. The NFL team is the New England Patriots, named after a six state region rather than a city or a state, while the Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins all carry the city name. Region, state and city are all in play at once.
- The state is physically small. Massachusetts ranks 44th of the 50 states by area, so one metropolitan area really does dominate it, and the city can feel like the whole thing.
The near answers people give instead
- "New England is the state." New England is a group of six states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Boston is in one of them.
- "Boston is not the capital, it is too big." Massachusetts is one of the minority of states where the capital and the largest city are the same place. The pattern you are thinking of holds in New York and California, not here.
- "Massachusetts is a city." The reverse mistake, and it turns up just as often. Massachusetts is a state, and one of the original 13 that ratified the Constitution.
- "Boston is in Maine or Connecticut." Those are neighboring New England states with their own capitals, Augusta and Hartford.
What Massachusetts actually is
Massachusetts is a New England state that joined the Union in 1788 as one of the original 13. It ranks 44th of the 50 states by area, runs on Eastern time and carries 11 electoral votes. The nickname is the Bay State, the motto is "Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem", the state bird is the black-capped chickadee and the state flower is the mayflower.
Four presidents were born here: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, John F. Kennedy and George H. W. Bush. The country's first public school, Boston Latin, opened in 1635, and Harvard followed in 1636. Basketball was invented in Springfield in 1891, and Boston's Big Dig became the most expensive highway project in US history at 24 billion dollars when it finished in 2007.
Quick reference for forms and quizzes
- City: Boston
- State: Massachusetts
- State abbreviation (USPS): MA
- State capital: Boston
- Region: New England, inside the Northeast
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Is Boston a state?
No. Boston is a US city located in Massachusetts, not a state. Boston is the capital and largest city of Massachusetts. People sometimes call it "Boston" interchangeably because the metro area dominates the state's identity, but Massachusetts is the state.
What state is Boston in?
Boston is in Massachusetts. The USPS code is MA.
What's the capital of Massachusetts?
The capital of Massachusetts is Boston. It is also the state's largest city.
Is Boston in New England?
Yes. New England is a six state region, and Boston sits in the Massachusetts corner of it. New England is not itself a state.