Goals
|
Indicator Measures
|
How are we doing?
|
|
|
|
| 3.1 Maintaining the Region’s Competitive Edge |
3.1.1 Share of young knowledge workers, Metro Boston vs. other regions |
According to 2006-2008 American Community Survey estimates, 49% of Metro Boston residents between the age of 25 and 44 had a Bachelor’s Degree or higher—ranking the region 10th among all metros and 1st among the nation’s largest metros. |
| |
3.1.2 Innovation capacity measured by patents per capita, Massachusetts |
Since 2000, Massachusetts has ranked within the top two Leading Technology States, and though patents per capita declined in 2007 among all states, in 2008, it ranked 1st with California at 60 patents per 100,000 residents among the ten Leading Technology States, according to the US Patent & Trade Office. |
| 3.2 Infrastructure to Support the Knowledge Economy |
3.2.1 Level of Federal Research and Development funding, Massachusetts vs. Leading Technology States |
In 2006 (the most recent year available) Massachusetts’ per capita funding was $383, up 10% over 2000 but a 19% decline over 2004. In 2009, through the American Reinvestment & Recovery Act (ARRA), Massachusetts also ranked first among all states and Puerto Rico and Washington DC in National Institutes of Health (NIH) Stimulus money per capita, at $77.41 per resident and 176.67 NIH stimulus grants per 1 million residents. |
|
3.2.2 Share of the nation’s venture capital investment, Massachusetts |
Through the first quarter of 2009, VC investment in the US declined by 58% versus the same period in 2008 while in Massachusetts, VC investment declined by 47%. In 2008, Massachusetts firms attracted more than $2.9 billion in venture capital—0.5% of the annual nationwide total |
| |
3.2.3 Funding for public higher education, Massachusetts vs. competitor states |
In fiscal year 2009, Massachusetts ranked 47th in the nation and last among Leading Technology State at $160 per capita. Only Rhode Island ($154), Vermont ($142) and New Hampshire ($105) ranked lower in per capita appropriations. |
| 3.3 Economic Strength and Resilience |
3.3.1 Employment by industry sector, Metro Boston and Boston |
Between 2000—the height of the high tech boom, and the end of 2008, annual employment declined by 48,000. In Greater Boston, employment declined by 33,400, with the majority of losses coming in the last half of 2008. |
|
3.3.2 Unemployment rate, Boston |
As of May 2009, Boston's unemployment reached 7.6%, surpassing the last peak of June 2003 when monthly unemployment reached 7.2%. Regionally, Metro Boston's unemployment rate reached 7.5% in the same month and Massachusetts' unemployment rate reached 8.6%. |
| |
3.3.3 Strong office and hotel markets, Boston |
Boston’s office vacancy rate increased to 9% in Q2 2009, up from the recent low of 6% in Q3 2007 but still lower than the high of 13.8% in Q3 2003. The hotel vacancy rate for Boston and Cambridge—76%--was roughly unchanged from 2007.
|
| 3.4 Affordable Cost of Living, Metro Boston |
3.4.1 Median household income adjusted by cost of living, Metro Boston |
Greater Boston’s cost of living rose 34% between 1999 and 2008—a figure greater than the US Urban Average of 30%. Household energy costs increased by 132%, Medical Care by 52%, Housing by 40%and Transportation by 29%. Boston’s median household income stood at $48,729 averaged for the years 2005-2007, up from $39,629 in 2000 |
| |
3.4.2 Family Self-Sufficiency Standard, Boston |
Boston 7th in the earnings needed for a family of four to reach the purchasing power of 300% of federal poverty in 2008: $84,173 to equal the average of $63,000 nationwide. |
|
3.4.3 Families and children living in poverty, Boston |
Overall, 26% of Boston’s families containing children under the age of 18 had incomes below the federal poverty level from 2005 to 2007, with singlw mothers of color disproportionately living below the federal poverty level. |
| 3.5 A Skilled Workforce |
3.5.1 Educational attainment, Boston and Metro Boston |
Metro Boston ranked 5th in 2008 among large US metro areas in the percentage of adults over age 25 holding a B.A. or higher, at 42%.That rate increased slightly from 40.6% in 2005, when Metro Boston ranked 6th.
|
|
3.5.2 Job training, adult education and English language skills, Massachusetts and Boston |
After falling from 2004 to 2008, Massachusetts waitlists for Adult Basic Education and ESOL classes have increased in 2009 in the wake of the recession. Additionally, some 30% of those who have participated in ABE/ESOL did not achieve their goals of higher education or employment in 2007. |
| 3.6 Economic Equity |
3.6.1 Income disparities between top and bottom quintile of population — the GINI Index, Boston and US |
As of 2008, Boston's GINI index of income inequality was higher than 0.5 and has been increasing faster than the US GINI index since the 1980's. Boston is now one of the most inequal cities not just in the US, but in the world.
|
|
3.6.2 Income by race, educational attainment, Boston neighborhood |
Median household income for Boston’s white, non-Hispanic-headed households was $62,605 compared to $43,297 for households headed by someone of two or more races, about $37,000 for Asian households, $32,215 for African American households, $29,347 for households headed by another race, and $26,947 for Latino-headed households.
|
| 3.7 Economic Mobility and Opportunity |
3.6.3 Unemployment by race/ethnicity, Boston and Massachusetts |
According to the 2008 American Community Survey, the unemployment rate for Massachsuetts' African American and Latino residents age 16 and older was roghly twice the rate of Asian and white adults in the labor force--at about 11% compared to about 5.5%. Also in 2008, Boston's unemployment rate was higher than the state-wide rate for all races/ethnicities excpet for white residents. |
| 3.7 Economic Mobility and Opportunity |
3.7.1 Number of Associates degrees awarded, Massachusetts |
Massachuestts community college enrollment was more than 121,000 in 2008--up 11% from 1998 and 3% from 2007 and the Department of HIgher Education conferred 8,343 Associates Degrees in 2008. |