Please sign up to join us for an author briefing on our new report, “An Early Look at the MBTA Communities Permitting Pipeline,” featuring Boston Indicators’ Amy Dain. buff.ly/Bp5UO3i

Greater Boston doesn’t just have rental deserts: it also has areas that are homeownership deserts, where 80 percent of homes are occupied by renters. This is also a challenge, as we explain in our report, “The Problem of Rental Deserts in Greater Boston, by the Numbers.” buff.ly/wkcR7Uy

As we explain in our report, "The Problem of Rental Deserts in Greater Boston, by the Numbers," buff.ly/wkcR7Uy, rental deserts tend to be located in richer, whiter neighborhoods.

In our report, "The Problem of Rental Deserts in Greater Boston, by the Numbers," buff.ly/wkcR7Uy we look at some of the policy history that has led to rental deserts, places where fewer than 20 percent of homes are renter-occupied or available for rent.

To keep up with all of our latest research and analysis, sign up for the Boston Indicators newsletter. buff.ly/1IzJX2w

Homelessness continues to be a persistent local challenge, as the Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2025 buff.ly/U5QacFS explains. IN 2024, homelessness hit record highs, then dropped slightly in 2025, but the number of homeless residents remains high.

It’s common knowledge that buying a home in Greater Boston is expensive. What the Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2025 buff.ly/U5QacFS reveals are the high median prices of single-family homes:

We've just released our new report, "The Problem of Rental Deserts in Greater Boston, by the Numbers," buff.ly/wMgIhQj which looks at the region's supply of rental housing and finds concerning shortages that limit housing options for area residents.

In addition to high home prices, Greater Boston residents also face the increasingly high cost of apartment rents, as we explain in the Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2025 buff.ly/U5QacFS.

Part of Greater Boston’s economic success is driven by immigrants, but high housing costs and tough federal laws could take a toll on this source of prosperity and weaken the local housing market, as we explain in the Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2025, buff.ly/NGenz8e.

For the next two weeks, we'll be posting about the Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2025 (GBHRC). If you missed the GBHRC release event, you can watch a recording here: buff.ly/NGenz8e.

Tens of thousands of Massachusetts residents could lose their Medicaid coverage in 2027 when the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) will require them to meet new work requirements.

Every year, the Greater Boston Housing Report Card buff.ly/nWR2BCE points out what everyone knows: Greater Boston’s home prices and apartment rents are extremely high.

Massachusetts will have to act fast to respond to the new work requirements for Medicaid recipients in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Regulatory details aren’t expected from the federal government until June 2026—a few short months before states have to notify residents of the new requirements.

Because of the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act, tens of thousands of formerly eligible legal immigrants in Massachusetts will now be barred from state Medicaid programs. Learn more in our new report, "A Massachusetts Model For Medicaid Work Requirements." buff.ly/dMZvt4h

As we explain in our new report, "A Massachusetts Model For Medicaid Work Requirements," buff.ly/dMZvt4h there are four steps that state policymakers should take to protect residents from losing their MassHealth insurance coverage.

In our new report, “A Massachusetts Model for Medicaid Work Requirements,” buff.ly/dMZvt4h we point to the need for fast, effective state action to protect people from losing their Medicaid coverage because of new federal laws.

Massachusetts will have to comply with the federal law that compels many Medicaid recipients to meet work requirements—and it should learn from the mistakes of other states.

We've just released our new report, “A Massachusetts Model for Medicaid Work Requirements,” buff.ly/dMZvt4h which looks at how Massachusetts can comply with new federal laws and protect people from losing their MassHealth insurance coverage.

Harsh federal policies could take a toll on the local housing market, as we explain in this year’s Greater Boston Housing Report Card. buff.ly/nWR2BCE

"At its best, Greater Boston is a welcoming region that draws strength from longtime residents and newcomers alike.

What are the benefits of building housing? buff.ly/NF8hGbY

"There are lots of intractable challenges within government. Building more housing isn't one of them... It should not be as hard as it is. buff.ly/NF8hGbY

The Special Topic section of the Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2025 looks at how the state's MBTA Communities law is doing at encouraging more housing density near commuter real stations. There is a huge amount of variation. buff.ly/NF8hGbY

Families' annual salaries would have to grow quickly to keep up with the cost of Greater Boston homes. To learn more, check out the Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2025. buff.ly/NF8hGbY

"Here's some historic data... going all the way back to the 1960s looking at building permits statewide, and the broad trend here is we've settled into a pattern of building permits that's far lower than what we were at historically." buff.ly/NF8hGbY

We're releasing the Greater Boston Housing Report card today. "As we look ahead, the question is no longer whether we need more housing—our data make that abundantly clear—but whether we can summon the civic will to act. buff.ly/NF8hGbY

Please join us on Thursday, November 20, 2025, at 9:00 a.m., for the release of our report, "A Massachusetts Model for Medicaid Work Requirements," buff.ly/yiXHLSL, which is part of our Meeting the Moment series, a response to President Trump’s aggressive agenda for changing American life.

Please join us on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at 9:00 a.m., in person or online, for the release of the 2025 Greater Boston Housing Report Card. buff.ly/Q8hGZHv We’re excited to have Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll join us. She will share a research presentation and her remarks.

Amy Dain once spent several years tracking down the number of housing permits issued in Greater Boston.

Counting the number of housing construction permits gives us a glimpse of how much housing could be built in the future.

To understand how many housing units might be built in the future, our new brief—“How many homes are we actually building?” buff.ly/8YLEGFn%E2%8... looks at recent trends in building permits.

Please join us on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at 9:00 a.m., in person or online, for the release of the 2025 Greater Boston Housing Report Card. buff.ly/Q8hGZHv We’re excited to have Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll join us. She will share a research presentation and her remarks.

Greater Boston and Massachusetts both need more housing production to meet the demand for affordable places to live.

How much housing is being built in Greater Boston and across Massachusetts? Not nearly enough, according to our estimates. There’s a concerning decline in the number of housing permits, which are one indicator of how many housing units will be built in the future.

Despite its name, the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) makes ugly cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits, which threatens to increase the racial wealth gap.

One way that the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) undercuts wealth building among low-income families is by making what had been a temporary estate tax exemption of $15 million—up from $7 million—permanent.

While many wealthy families will become wealthier because of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), the new federal law could make the racial wealth gap even worse, as we explain in our new report, “Fading Beauty: How the One Big Beautiful Bill Could Widen Wealth Inequality.” buff.ly/qjS65ET

“Do apartment buildings really need two stairwells?” That’s the question The Boston Globe editorial page asks in the second installment of its series on reviewing housing regulations. buff.ly/Qzd9fvq

To keep up with local policy news, sign up for one—or both—of our newsletters! buff.ly/EeMKdJA

Compared to its municipal peers, Greater Boston has made progress on integration, as we explain in our report “Residential Segregation in Greater Boston: Shifting Patterns by Race and Income.” buff.ly/272tdjq

Our policy brief on SNAP benefits—”Meeting the Moment: SNAP Cuts and the Local Fallout”—made the news. buff.ly/3eocTFc

The editorial page of “The Boston Globe” has launched a series looking at how Massachusetts can “Roll back regulations to lower housing costs.” buff.ly/VzEIa4S

The city of Newton, Mass., took the concept of providing families with a "guaranteed income" (GI), and developed Newton Thrive, a program that's based on the appealing model of "Mobility Mentoring."

As we explain in our report, “Meeting the Moment: SNAP Cuts and the Local Fallout,” buff.ly/fe2bDXA the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), signed into law by President Trump, makes concerning changes to SNAP, the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Check out the three new resource summaries in our Racial Wealth Equity resource center: rwerc.org

Because of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act that President Trump signed into law, legal immigrants stand to lose access to SNAP, the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as we explain in our report, “Meeting the Moment: SNAP Cuts and the Local Fallout.” bit.ly/3HPDCIL

Looming cuts to SNAP, the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, will hit some Massachusetts communities harder than others, as we explain in our new report, “Meeting the Moment: SNAP Cuts and the Local Fallout.” bit.ly/3HPDCIL

Income segregation in the Boston area is growing, as we explain in our new report, “Residential Segregation in Greater Boston: Shifting Patterns by Race and Income.” buff.ly/ILWdE9A

In our new report, “Residential Segregation in Greater Boston: Shifting Patterns by Race and Income,”  buff.ly/3kuIeCk  we assess how groups interact in Greater Boston by looking at an “interaction index,” a measure of how likely it is...