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Data from The Boston Renaissance | Census 2000 | SMOBE: Survey of Minority-Owned Business Enterprises

PHOTO: Cover of The Boston Renaissance Data from The Boston Renaissance: Race, Space, and Economic Change in an American Metropolis.

Written by Barry Bluestone and Mary Huff Stevenson, The Boston Renaissance, provides a detailed portrait of the region's progress and prospects at the turn of the century. The book was based on a major survey of more than 1,800 homes in the Greater Boston area in 1994. The following presentations capture much of the data collected in the survey. We will continue to update this page with new data from the book.

Data Set #1: The Boston Renaissance (PPT)

Data Set #2: Who We Are: How Families Fare in Greater Boston Today (PPT)

Data Set #3: Greater Boston in Transition: The Triple Revolution (PPT)

Data Set #4: The Housing Crisis (PPT)

Data Set #5: Racial Attitudes and Residential Segregation (PPT)

Data Set #6: Greater Boston Labor Market (PPT)

PHOTO: Boston Census data Census 2000

The release of state and local Census figures signifies more than number-crunching fodder for academics. For citizens of Massachusetts and particularly Boston, the numbers breathe life into a notion residents accepted long ago: far from its static "Beantown" stereotype, this is a region pulsing with change. Boston experienced population growth for the second time in two decades, contradicting stereotypes of all-powerful suburbs acting as residential drains. But the Census numbers' biggest findings come in the way of area minority populations, proving that local perceptions of increasing ethnicity on neighborhood streets were no illusion. CURP presents two data sets tracking race as a percentage of population in selected cities and towns and each of Boston's neighborhoods.

Census 2000 and the Region

Minorities as a percent of total population from 1950-2000 in Boston, Brockton, Cambridge, Chelsea, Lawrence, Lowell, and Somerville. Special thanks to Barry Bluestone for compiling this data. View "MINORITY POPULATIONS IN SELECTED CITIES, 1950-2000" in PDF format or "MINORITY POPULATIONS IN SELECTED CITIES" Powerpoint file .

Census 2000 and Boston

Boston and its neighborhoods by race from 1980-2000, featuring: Boston, Allston-Brighton, Back Bay/Beacon Hill, Central Boston/Chinatown, Charlestown, North Dorchester, South Dorchester, East Boston, Fenway/Kenmore, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, Roslindale, Roxbury, South Boston, South End, and West Roxbury. Special thanks to Joseph Lenti for compiling this data. View "BOSTON BY RACE, 1980-2000" in HTML (best for Internet Explorer) or the "BOSTON BY RACE" Excel File (best for Netscape).

PHOTO: SMOBE data SMOBE: Survey of Minority-Owned Business Enterprises

In mid-September, the Bureau of the Census released the final installment of the latest Survey of Minority-Owned Businesses. Reflecting several recent methodological improvements, this survey gives the clearest picture ever of the status of minority businesses in the nation, individual states, metropolitan areas, and specific cities.

The Survey of Minority-Owned Business Enterprises (SMOBE) is taken every five years as part of the Census Bureau's Economic Census. Just as the Census of Population (taken every ten years) is designed to provide information about the inhabitants of the U.S., the Economic Census is designed to provide information about the U.S. economy. The purpose of the SMOBE is to specifically focus on data about businesses owned by Blacks, Hispanics/Latinos, Asian and Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans. Information is provided for the nation, individual states, metropolitan areas, and major cities.

As part of our efforts to spread information about the urban and regional economy to our readership, we have prepared a synopsis of information about Massachusetts based upon data from the survey, along with population figures from the Current Population Survey for 1997, the same year that the SMOBE data is from.

Special thanks to Russell Williams for compiling this data.

Background information on Massachusetts population

State Population in 1997 according to Census Bureau estimate:

  • White Non-Hispanic--- 85.3% (5,217,300)
  • Minority-------------- 14.7% (898,176)
  • --Black--------------------- 6.3% (384,540)
  • --Latino-------------------- 5.9% (361,859)
  • --Asian--------------------- 3.5% (212,473)
  • --American Indian-------- 0.2% (14,675)*

    Firm ownership information

    Click here to view the chart "Massachusetts Firm Ownership by Race."

    Among the 537,150 firms in Massachusetts:

  • 482,684 are White Non-Hispanic
  • 39,039 are Minority-owned
  • 1,686 are 50% minority and 50% non-minority
  • 13,741 are classified as Other**

    Percentages of firm ownership in Massachusetts:

  • 89.9% of firms are owned by White (non-Hispanic) owners
  • 2.4% of firms are Asian-owned
  • 2.4% of firms are Latino-owned
  • 2.2% of firms are Black-owned
  • 0.6% of firms are Native-American owned
  • 0.3% of firms are 50% minority and 50% non-minority owned
  • 2.6% are classified as Other**

    Minority-owned firms constitute 7.3% of all Massachusetts firms. The breakdown is as follows:

  • 12,729 Asian firms
  • 12,725 Latino firms
  • 11,834 Black firms
  • 3,428 American Indian-owned firms*

    Massachusetts business sales and receipts

    Click here to view the chart "Massachusetts Population, Business Ownership, and Business Sales/Receipts for Private Businesses."

    In percentages:

  • More than half of all business sales/receipts (56.4%) accrue to publicly held corporations, foreign-owned companies, not-for-profit companies, and membership-owned companies.
  • More than 40% of Massachusetts business sales/receipts (42.1%) accrue to the state's White-non-Hispanic-owned firms.
  • Less than one percent of Massachusetts business sales receipts (0.8%) accrue to the state's Asian-owned firms.
  • Less than one percent of Massachusetts business sales receipts (0.3%) accrue to the state's Latino-owned firms.
  • Less than one percent of Massachusetts business sales receipts (0.2%) accrue to the state's Black-owned firms.
  • Less than one percent of Massachusetts business sales receipts (0.1%) accrue to the state's Native-American-owned firms.

    Dollar amounts of total sales and receipts:

  • Other**-------------------------- $291,865,864,000
  • White non-Hispanic-------------- 217,628,929,000
  • Asian-owned firms------------------ 4,182,593,000
  • Latino-owned firms------------------ 1,622,815,000
  • Black-owned firms------------------- 1,013,134,000
  • Native-American owned----------------295,317,000
  • 50% Minority/50% non-Minority------ 816,532,000

    Average sales and receipts per firm:

  • Other**-------------------------------- $ 21,240,511
  • White (non-Hispanic)-owned firms-------- 450,872
  • Asian-owned firms-------------------------- 328,588
  • Latino-owned firms-------------------------- 127,530
  • Black-owned firms---------------------------- 85,612
  • Native-American owned--------------------- 86,148
  • 50% Minority/50% non-Minority----------- 484,301

    Click here to view the chart "Massachusetts Average Sales/Receipts Per Firm."

    Massachusetts businesses with paid employees

    Of the 135,309 businesses with paid employees:

  • 117,043 (86.5%) were White Non-Hispanic
  • 7,641 (5.6%) were minority-owned firms
  • 4,379 (3.2%) were Asian-owned
  • 1,627 (1.2%) were Latino-owned
  • 1,239 (0.9%) were Black-owned

    Percentage of firms that had paid employees within racial/ethnic group:

  • Among firms owned by White non-Hispanic owners, approximately 1 in 4 (24.2%) had paid employees
  • Among firms owned by Asian owners, approximately 1 in 3 (34.4%) had paid employees
  • Among firms with Latino owners, approximately 1 in 8 (12.8%) had paid employees
  • Among firms with Black owners, approximately 1 in 10 (10.5%) had paid employees
  • Among firms with Native American owners, approximately 1 in 6 (16.9%) had paid employees

    Highest number of Minority-owned firms in Massachusetts cities and towns

    Cities/towns with 200 or more Asian-owned firms:

  • Boston------------ 1,960
  • Cambridge---------- 687
  • Quincy------------- 434
  • Lexington----------- 423
  • Newton------------- 372
  • Worcester---------- 305
  • Lowell-------------- 297
  • Malden------------- 222

    Cities/towns with 200 or more Latino-owned firms:

  • Boston------------ 1,500
  • Lawrence----------- 622
  • Springfield---------- 614
  • New Bedford-------- 453
  • Cambridge---------- 383
  • Framingham--------- 338
  • Newton------------- 278
  • Brockton------------ 265
  • Worcester---------- 226
  • Walpole------------- 222
  • Marlborough--------- 210
  • Lowell--------------- 202

    Cities/towns with 200 or more Black-owned firms:

  • Boston------------ 4,239
  • Springfield----------- 832
  • Brockton------------ 536
  • Cambridge----------- 483
  • Randolph------------ 471
  • Lawrence----------- 289
  • Lynn---------------- 231
  • Worcester----------- 229
  • Lowell--------------- 204

    * Note: The populations of Asian, Latino, Black and American Indians do not sum to the exact total number of the Minority population because some individuals fit into more than one group (example, individuals who are Black and Latino).

    ** Note: "Other" includes publicly-held corporations, foreign-owned companies, not-for-profit companies, and membership-owned companies (for example, mutual companies).