It is named after, and primarily serves, the adjacent Back of the Hill apartment complex, a Section 8 development for elderly and disabled residents.

The station has no platforms; passengers wait in bus shelters (shared with route 39 buses) on the sidewalks and cross a traffic lane to reach Green Line trains.

[7] Back of the Hill is the least-used stop on the MBTA subway system, averaging only 35 riders per day by a 2011 count.

[1][note 1] In 2021, the MBTA indicated plans to modify the Heath Street–Brigham Circle section of the E branch with accessible platforms to replace the existing non-accessible stopping locations.

[13][14] As of December 2024[update], the MBTA plans to close the Back of the Hill stop due to its proximity to Heath Street and the difficulty of building platforms at the site.