Massachusetts

==Cities, towns, and counties==

{{Main|Government of Massachusetts#County_government|Government of Massachusetts#Municipal_government|l1 = Government of Massachusetts § County Government|l2 = Government of Massachusetts § Municipal Government}}

There are [[List of municipalities in Massachusetts|50 cities and 301 towns]] in Massachusetts, grouped into [[List of Massachusetts counties|14 counties]].<ref name=MassCities1>{{cite web |url=http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cisctlist/ctlistidx.htm |title=Information and Historical Data on Cities, Towns, and Counties in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts |publisher=[[Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth]] |access-date=June 8, 2010}}</ref> The fourteen counties, moving roughly from west to east, are [[Berkshire County, Massachusetts|Berkshire]], [[Franklin County, Massachusetts|Franklin]], [[Hampshire County, Massachusetts|Hampshire]], [[Hampden County, Massachusetts|Hampden]], [[Worcester County, Massachusetts|Worcester]], [[Middlesex County, Massachusetts|Middlesex]], [[Essex County, Massachusetts|Essex]], [[Suffolk County, Massachusetts|Suffolk]], [[Norfolk County, Massachusetts|Norfolk]], [[Bristol County, Massachusetts|Bristol]], [[Plymouth County, Massachusetts|Plymouth]], [[Barnstable County, Massachusetts|Barnstable]], [[Dukes County, Massachusetts|Dukes]], and [[Nantucket County, Massachusetts|Nantucket]]. Eleven communities which call themselves "towns" are, by law, cities since they have traded the [[town meeting]] form of government for a mayor-council or manager-council form.<ref>See [[Administrative divisions of Massachusetts#The city/town distinction]].</ref>

Boston is the state capital in Massachusetts. The population of the city proper is 692,600,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/bostoncitymassachusetts/PST045219|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515190433/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/bostoncitymassachusetts/PST045219|archive-date=May 15, 2020|title=Quick Facts: Boston, Massachusetts|date=July 1, 2019|website=U.S. Census Bureau|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=June 13, 2020}}</ref> and [[Greater Boston]], with a population of 4,873,019, is the 11th largest [[metropolitan area]] in the nation.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thomas |first1=G. Scott |title=Boston's population stays flat, but still ranks as 11th-largest in U.S. (BBJ DataCenter) |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/bbj_research_alert/2012/11/bostons-population-stays-flat-but.html?page=all |website=[[American City Business Journals]] |access-date=May 4, 2015}}</ref> Other cities with a population over 100,000 include [[Worcester, Massachusetts|Worcester]], [[Springfield, Massachusetts|Springfield]], [[Lowell, Massachusetts|Lowell]], [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]], [[Brockton, Massachusetts|Brockton]], [[Quincy, Massachusetts|Quincy]], [[New Bedford, Massachusetts|New Bedford]], and [[Lynn, Massachusetts|Lynn]]. [[Plymouth, Massachusetts|Plymouth]] is the largest municipality in the state by land area, followed by [[Middleborough, Massachusetts|Middleborough]].<ref name=MassCities1 />

Massachusetts, along with the five other [[New England]] states, features the local governmental structure known as [[New England town|the New England town]].{{sfn|Sokolow|1997|pp=293–6}} In this structure, incorporated towns—as opposed to townships or counties—hold many of the responsibilities and powers of local government.{{Sfn|Sokolow|1997|pp=293–6}} Most of the county governments were abolished by the state of Massachusetts beginning in 1997 including [[Middlesex County, Massachusetts|Middlesex County]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Massachusetts Facts Part One: Concise Facts |url=http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cismaf/mf1b.htm |publisher=[[Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth]] |access-date=May 4, 2015}}</ref> the largest county in the state by population.<ref>{{cite web |title=Massachusetts Population by County |url=http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/united-states/quick-facts/massachusetts/population#map |publisher=indexmundi.com |access-date=May 4, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Middlesex County, Massachusetts |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=May 4, 2015 }}</ref> The voters of these now-defunct counties elect only Sheriffs and Registers of Deeds, who are part of the state government. Other counties have been reorganized, and a few still retain county councils.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lwvma.org/your-government/counties/ |title=Massachusetts Government: County Government |date=December 9, 2012 |publisher=[[League of Women Voters]] |access-date=October 2, 2014}}</ref>

{{Largest cities
| country = Massachusetts
| stat_ref = Source:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/usa/cities/massachusetts/|title=Largest Cities by population|date=July 1, 2021|publisher=2021 U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=April 28, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/plymouthtownplymouthcountymassachusetts/PST045222|title=Quick Facts: Plymouth town, Massachusetts|date=July 1, 2021|publisher=2021 U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=April 28, 2023}}</ref>
| list_by_pop =
| div_name =
| div_link = Counties of Massachusetts{{!}}County
| city_1 = Boston, Massachusetts{{!}}Boston
| div_1 = Suffolk County, Massachusetts{{!}}Suffolk
| pop_1 = 654,776
| img_1 = Boston skyline from Longfellow Bridge September 2017 panorama 2.jpg
| city_2 = Worcester, Massachusetts{{!}}Worcester
| div_2 = Worcester County, Massachusetts{{!}}Worcester
| pop_2 = 205,918
| img_2 = Downtown Worcester 2.jpg
| city_3 = Springfield, Massachusetts{{!}}Springfield
| div_3 = Hampden County, Massachusetts{{!}}Hampden
| pop_3 = 154,789
| img_3 = Downtown Springfield, MA.jpg
| city_4 = Cambridge, Massachusetts{{!}}Cambridge
| div_4 = Middlesex County, Massachusetts{{!}}Middlesex
| img_4 = Cambridge Skyline.jpg
| pop_4 = 117,090
| city_5 = Lowell, Massachusetts{{!}}Lowell
| div_5 = Middlesex County, Massachusetts{{!}}Middlesex
| pop_5 = 113,994
| img_5 =
| city_6 = Brockton, Massachusetts{{!}}Brockton
| div_6 = Plymouth County, Massachusetts{{!}}Plymouth
| pop_6 = 105,994
| img_6 =
| city_7 = Quincy, Massachusetts{{!}}Quincy
| div_7 = Norfolk County, Massachusetts{{!}}Norfolk
| pop_7 = 101,119
| img_7 =
| city_8 = New Bedford, Massachusetts{{!}}New Bedford
| div_8 = Bristol County, Massachusetts{{!}}Bristol
| pop_8 = 100,941
| img_8 =
| city_9 = Lynn, Massachusetts{{!}}Lynn
| div_9 = Essex County, Massachusetts{{!}}Essex
| pop_9 = 100,843
| img_9 =
| city_10 = Fall River, Massachusetts{{!}}Fall River
| div_10 = Bristol County, Massachusetts{{!}}Bristol
| pop_10 = 93,884
| img_10 =
| city_11 = Lawrence, Massachusetts{{!}}Lawrence
| div_11 = Essex County, Massachusetts{{!}}Essex
| pop_11 = 88,508
| img_11 =
| city_12 = Newton, Massachusetts{{!}}Newton
| div_12 = Middlesex County, Massachusetts{{!}}Middlesex
| pop_12 = 87,453
| img_12 =
| city_13 = Somerville, Massachusetts{{!}}Somerville
| div_13 = Middlesex County, Massachusetts{{!}}Middlesex
| pop_13 = 79,815
| img_13 =
| city_14 = Framingham, Massachusetts{{!}}Framingham
| div_14 = Middlesex County, Massachusetts{{!}}Middlesex
| pop_14 = 71,265
| img_14 = 
| city_15 = Haverhill, Massachusetts{{!}}Haverhill
| div_15 = Essex County, Massachusetts{{!}}Essex
| pop_15 = 67,361
| img_15 = 
| city_16 = Malden, Massachusetts{{!}}Malden
| div_16 = Middlesex County, Massachusetts{{!}}Middlesex
| pop_16 = 65,074
| img_16 = 
| city_17 = Waltham, Massachusetts{{!}}Waltham
| div_17 = Middlesex County, Massachusetts{{!}}Middlesex
| pop_17 = 64,015
| img_17 = 
| city_18 = Brookline, Massachusetts{{!}}Brookline
| div_18 = Norfolk County, Massachusetts{{!}}Norfolk
| pop_18 = 62,726
| img_18 = 
| city_19 = Plymouth, Massachusetts{{!}}Plymouth
| div_19 = Plymouth County, Massachusetts{{!}}Plymouth
| pop_19 = 62,131
| img_19 = 
| city_20 = Medford, Massachusetts{{!}}Medford
| div_20 = Middlesex County, Massachusetts{{!}}Middlesex
| pop_20 = 62,098
| img_20 = 
}}