Census: State Gets More Diverse; Boston Grows

Published March 22, 2011

Secretary of State William Galvin today released detailed Massachusetts population data from the U.S. Census Bureau. In addition to providing a snapshot as to how the state changed from 2000-2010, legislators will use the data to determine how to best eliminate one congressional district.

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Highlights:

  • The state is more diverse. Asian and Hispanic populations increased nearly 50 percent from 2000-2010. The state’s black population increased 26 percent. The white population decreased 1.9 percent — to just over 80 percent of the state’s total.
  • Worcester County saw the biggest gains; Cape Cod and the Berkshires the biggest losses.
  • Boston’s population grew by nearly 5 percent. At first, Galvin erroneously reported that Boston had the state’s biggest total population loss.
  • Here’s all the Massachusetts data.

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Full Live Blog Details:

5:38 p.m. Why the population declines in Cape Cod and the Berkshires? Here’s WBUR’s Fred Thys:

According to the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, people can’t afford to live there and there are few jobs. But Galvin says people have second homes on Cape Cod that they might not be registering as their primary residence. Same with the Berkshires. It could be a summer residency issue.

5:32 p.m. Here’s how some other outlets across the state are reporting today’s figures:

5:15 p.m. Confirmed his city grew nearly 5 percent, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said this:

I am proud to see Boston’s population continue to grow. Our City continues to be a vibrant and attractive place live, work and raise a family. As we continue to innovate and bring new jobs to our City and work to provide opportunities for families, I am confident Boston will continue to grow and thrive.

At 617,594 residents, the mayor says it’s the first time since the 1970s that Boston’s population is over 600,000. It also maintained its “majority-minority” status, with 53 percent nonwhite or Hispanic.

4:07 p.m. Last hour on Radio Boston, WBUR’s Thys noted how the numbers play a big role in federal funding. Cities say one resident is roughly equivalent to $1,200 in aid. That’s why Boston immediately jumped on Galvin’s initial claim that the city had lost residents. Here’s his debrief:

3:45 p.m. The Globe has created a cool, color-coded graphic showing population changes for every community in the state. It really illustrates the losses in the Berkshires and Cape Cod, and gains in Worcester County.

The Herald writes the population shift this way:

Bay State residents fled sandy Cape Cod communities and the grassy pastures of the Berkshires for the bright lights of Boston and Cambridge over the past 10 years…

3:05 p.m. Some other population figures for Greater Boston cities:

  • Cambridge: 3.76 percent growth to 105,162
  • Medford: 0.73 percent growth to 56,173
  • Newton: 1.57 percent growth to 85,146
  • Somerville: 2.23 percent decline to 75,754
  • Waltham: 2.37 percent growth to 60,632

2:05 p.m. The population gains in Worcester County really stand out. Twelve communities experienced growth of more than 15 percent, compared to only a handful of communities with small population decreases.

1:50 p.m. From Galvin’s (first) news conference on today’s headlining minority gains:

Massachusetts is an extremely diverse state. It’s a world destination, it’s very cosmopolitan. Some people may not like that; I think it’s great. But I think it does reflect in these numbers.

1:33 p.m. The state’s census website is now live.

The first screen allows users to search by county or municipality. A further click allows users to see municipalities’ detailed demographic data.

12:59 p.m. Some hard figures on the earlier-reported gains made by minority populations:

  • Asian population: 46 percent growth
  • Hispanic population: 46 percent growth
  • Black population: 26 percent growth

The state’s white population decreased 1.9 percent to just over 80 percent.

12:55 p.m. The Census Bureau has confirmed Boston’s population grew by about 5 percent (to 617,594) over the last decade. “I very much regret the confusion this has caused,” Galvin said of the wrongly-reported numbers.

12:25 p.m. Galvin’s office told the AP its figures were miscalculated. Notably, the AP reports, Boston actually gained people and Springfield did not fall below a population of 150,000 — “a key figure for certain federal aid programs.”

WBUR’s Thys says there will be another news conference at 2 p.m.

12:10 p.m. In non-how-big-is-Boston news, from the first AP dispatch:

The numbers released Tuesday show significant increases in the state’s black, Hispanic and Asian populations, while the number of white residents dropped slightly.

11:46 a.m. Two updates and already a headline change. Apparently the city of Boston is disputing Galvin’s claim that Boston is the state’s population loser.

From the Globe:

Moments later, Menino’s office reached out to reporters, saying Galvin was mistaken about the Census numbers and that Boston had actually gained population, growing to 617,594 from 589,141, a 4.8 percent increase.

We’ll actually know later this afternoon when this site goes live.

11:11 a.m. State House News tweets out the first details:

Top five population gainers: Plymouth, Revere, Worcester, Shrewsbury, Lawrence. Top five population losers: Boston, Fall River, Springfield, Somerville, Brockton.

The Boston Globe’s Glen Johnson clarifies that Boston “lost the most total population.”

Earlier Coverage: