Some of Greater Boston's most well-known contributions involve the region's higher education and medical institutions.

The region and the state of Massachusetts are global leaders in biotechnology, artificial intelligence,[2] engineering, higher education, finance, and maritime trade.

The Greater Boston region has played a powerful scientific, commercial, and cultural role in the history of the United States.

[10] Many prominent American political dynasties have hailed from the Boston region, including the Adams and Kennedy families.

Harvard University in Cambridge is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, founded in 1636,[11] with the largest financial endowment of any university,[12] and whose Law School has spawned a contemporaneous majority of United States Supreme Court Justices.

[17] The MAPC is a regional planning organization created by the Massachusetts legislature to oversee transportation infrastructure and economic development concerns in the Boston area.

This area consists of the following counties in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire:[23] The total population for the extended region was estimated at 8,466,186 at the 2020 census.

The following Regional Transit Authorities have bus service that connects with MBTA commuter rail stations: Annual sporting events include: The Greater Boston League, a high school athletic conference in Massachusetts.