Description of Massachusetts, US

When it comes to population, Massachusetts has a sizable lead over its New England neighbors. Eastern borders include the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine, southern ones include Connecticut and Rhode Island, northern ones include New Hampshire and Vermont, and western ones include New York. Boston is the largest city in New England and the state capital of Massachusetts. It is located in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, a place that has had a significant impact on American history, academia, and business. Originally reliant on farming, fishing, and trading, Massachusetts became a manufacturing powerhouse during the Industrial Revolution after diversifying its economy. Massachusetts' economy changed from manufacturing to services during the twentieth century. Biotechnology, engineering, higher education, banking, and maritime trade are just a few of the fields where modern-day Massachusetts is a global leader.

English colonization of Massachusetts dates back to the Pilgrims of the Mayflower, who established the Plymouth Colony in 1620 and the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, which was named after the indigenous Massachusett people. One of America's most notorious outbreaks of mass hysteria occurred in 1692 in and around the town of Salem, Massachusetts: the Salem witch trials. Major innovations in manufacturing, like as interchangeable components, were spurred by the Springfield Armory, which was founded in 1777 by General Henry Knox. A disgruntled group of Revolutionary War veterans led Shays' Rebellion in 1786, which had an impact on the U.S. Constitutional Convention. From Northampton preacher Jonathan Edwards, the Protestant First Great Awakening swept Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies in 18th-century America. Boston was dubbed the "Cradle of Liberty" in the late 18th century because of the uprisings that took place there and eventually led to the American Revolution.

The entire state of Massachusetts has had a significant impact on American history in the fields of science, commerce, and culture. Abolitionist, temperance, and transcendentalist organizations flourished in Massachusetts before the American Civil War. Basketball and volleyball were both invented in Springfield and Holyoke, Massachusetts, in the late 19th century. Because of a ruling made by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Massachusetts became the first US state to legalize same-sex marriage in 2004. The Kennedy and Adams families are just two examples of major American political families with roots in this state. Harvard Law School has produced a majority of Supreme Court justices throughout the same time period as Harvard University, making it the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States with the biggest endowment of any university. As a result of Kendall Square's high concentration of entrepreneurial start-ups and level of invention since 2010, it has been referred to as "the most innovative square mile on the planet". This city's Harvard and MIT are among the world's most esteemed educational institutions, and they're both located in Cambridge. According to the World Population Review, Massachusetts people have the highest average IQ in the United States, exceeding 104, and the state's public-school children rank among the best in the world in academic performance. Residents consider it one of the best places to call home, but they also consider it one of the most expensive states to live in.

Geographical Description of Massachusetts

The 7th smallest state in the union, Massachusetts has a population of just over 7 million people. In the northeastern United States, in the New England part of the region, it has a total area of 10,555 square miles (27,340 km2), of which 25,7 percent is water. Large bays dot the coastline, giving it a distinct look. Boston is the state's capital and largest city, located at the mouth of the Charles River at Massachusetts Bay's innermost point.

Massachusetts has a wide variety of topographical elements despite its tiny stature. Most of the state's population can be found in the eastern portion of the state, which includes the Cape Cod peninsula and Greater Boston. To the west, the Connecticut River Valley and the hilly countryside of Central Massachusetts await. The Berkshires, the state's highest elevation, are located on the western boundary of Western Massachusetts and comprise part of the northern terminal of the Appalachian Mountains.

Several natural and historical sites in Massachusetts are under the management of the United States National Park Service. Additionally, the National Park Service oversees the Cape Cod National Seashore and the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. Aside from that, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) manage a number of state parks and beaches.

Economy of Massachusetts

According to the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis, Massachusetts' gross state product will be $584 billion in 2020. It was the third-highest state in the country in 2012 in terms of personal income per person. Minimum wage for tipped workers in Massachusetts is $6.15 an hour, although employers are guaranteed to pay the difference if a tipped employee's hourly income does not meet or surpass that of the general minimum wage. A series of minimum wage changes were passed in 2018 that saw the minimum wage raise gradually every January through 2023. This wage will rise to a general minimum of $15.00 per hour and a tipped worker minimum of $6.75 per hour in January 2023.

In 2015, Massachusetts has twelve Fortune 500 companies: Liberty Mutual, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, TJX Companies, General Electric, Raytheon, American Tower, Global Partners, Thermo Fisher Scientific, State Street Corporation, Biogen, Eversource Energy, and Boston Scientific. According to CNBC and Bloomberg, Massachusetts has been named the most inventive state in the United States for a second year in a row on their list of the "Top States for Business for 2014." With a millionaires-to-population ratio of 6.73 percent, Massachusetts ranked sixth in the nation in a 2013 survey by Phoenix Marketing International. Fidelity Investments, New Balance, Kraft Group, Boston Scientific, and the old Continental Cablevision are among the billionaires who live in the state.

The Massachusetts Port Authority of Boston, the Port of New Bedford, and the City of Holyoke are all foreign-trade zones in Massachusetts. As New England's busiest airport, handling 33.4 million passengers in 2015, Boston Logan Foreign Airport has seen a significant increase in international aviation traffic since 2010.

Higher education, biotechnology, information technology, banking, health care, tourism, manufacturing, and defense are just a few of the state's many important industries. Venture capitalists continue to flock to the Route 128 corridor and the Greater Boston area as a hotbed for high-tech investment. Boston and Cape Cod are the state's top tourist destinations, and that trend has continued in recent years. There are plenty other places to visit in Massachusetts, including the historic towns of Salem, Plymouth, and the Berkshires. Among foreign tourists, Massachusetts is the sixth-most popular location. According to a 2010 report by the Great Places in Massachusetts Commission (GPMA), there are over 1,000 historic, cultural, and natural attractions in the state.

In 2016, manufacturing accounted for less than ten percent of the state's gross domestic product, but Massachusetts was the 16th-largest producer of manufactured goods in the United States. Medical gadgets, paper goods, speciality chemicals and plastics, telecommunications and electronic equipment, as well as machined components are all included in this category.

One-sixth of Massachusetts' workforce is employed by the state's more than 33,000 nonprofit organizations. It was enacted into law by Governor Deval Patrick in 2007 that Nonprofit Awareness Day be a state holiday.

According to US News and World Report, Massachusetts is the greatest state in the United States based on 60 variables including healthcare, education, criminality, infrastructure and opportunity. Education, healthcare, and the economy rated the Bay State among the top five states in the United States.