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Demographics of New England
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In 2000, the total population of New England was 13,922,517, roughly twice its 1910 population of 6,552,681. If New England were one state, its population would rank 5th in the nation, behind Florida. Its land area, at 62,808.96 sq mi (162,672.45 km²), would rank 21st, behind Washington and ahead of Georgia. The region's average population density is 221.66 inhabitants/sq mi (85.59/km²), although a great disparity exists between its northern and southern portions, as noted below. It is much greater than that of the United States as a whole (79.56/sq mi) or even just the contiguous 48 states (94.48/sq mi). Southern New England Three-quarters of the population of New England and most of the major cities are in the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Their combined population density is 786.83/sq mi, compared to northern New England's 63.56/sq mi (2000 census). The most populous state is Massachusetts, and the most populous city is Massachusetts' political and cultural capital, Boston. Coastal New England The coastline is more urban than western New England, which is typically rural, even in urban states like Massachusetts. This characteristic of the region's population is due mainly to historical factors; the original colonists settled mostly on the coastline of Massachusetts Bay. The only New England state without access to the Atlantic Ocean, Vermont, is also the least urbanized. After nearly 400 years, the region still maintains, for the most part, its historical population layout. New England's coast is dotted with urban centers, such as Portland, Portsmouth, Boston, New Bedford, Fall River, Providence, New Haven, Bridgeport, and Stamford as well as smaller cities, like Newburyport, Gloucester, Biddeford, Bath, Rockland, Newport, and New London. Urban New England Southern New England forms an integral part of the BosWash megalopolis, a conglomeration of urban centers that spans from Boston to Washington, D.C.. The region includes three of the four most densely populated states in the United States; only New Jersey has a higher population density than the states of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. The Boston metropolitan area, which includes parts of southern New Hampshire, has a total population of approximately 4.4 million. The most populous cities are as of 2000 Census (2007 estimates in parenthesis): #Boston, Massachusetts: 589,141 (608,352) #Providence, Rhode Island: 173,618 (172,459) #Worcester, Massachusetts: 172,648 (173,966) #Springfield, Massachusetts: 152,082 (149,938) #Bridgeport, Connecticut: 139,529 (136,695) #Hartford, Connecticut: 124,558 (124,563) #New Haven, Connecticut: 123,626 (123,932) #Stamford, Connecticut: 117,083 (118,475) #Waterbury, Connecticut: 107,271 (107,174) #Manchester, New Hampshire: 107,006 (108,874) #Lowell, Massachusetts: 105,167 (103,512) #Cambridge, Massachusetts: 101,355 (101,388) During the 20th century, urban expansion in regions surrounding New York City has become an important economic influence on neighboring Connecticut, parts of which belong to the New York Metropolitan Area. The U.S. Census Bureau groups Fairfield, New Haven and Litchfield counties in western Connecticut together with New York City, and other parts of New York and New Jersey as a combined statistical area. See Also
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