Historically, Massachusetts has been sucessful in transforming itself from an agricultural economy to a manufacturing one, and more recently to a "high-tech" economy. Most of the state's population is the 5,800,000 people of Greater Boston, including Boston proper, the North Shore, South Shore, and the western suburbs. There has been a net outflow of population in recent years largely driven by higher housing costs. Per capita personal income is the 2nd highest in the country behind Connecticut. Massachusetts is the first state in the union to mandate health insurance for all its citizens.
Historically, Massachusetts has been sucessful in transforming itself from an agricultural economy to a manufacturing one, and more recently to a "high-tech" economy. Most of the state's population is the 5,800,000 people of Greater Boston, including Boston proper, the North Shore, South Shore, and the western suburbs. There has been a net outflow of population in recent years largely driven by higher housing costs. Per capita personal income is the 2nd highest in the country behind Connecticut. Massachusetts is the first state in the union to mandate health insurance for all its citizens.