Boston Indicators

Male workforce participation reveals a more complex and concerning trajectory than that of women, as we explain in our report, “Boys & Men in Greater Boston: Challenges in Education, Employment and Health.” https://buff.ly/OWVZ5Hd While men in Massachusetts continue to outperform national averages in employment levels, economic mobility, and wages, prime-age male employment has declined slightly over the past four decades, falling from 90 percent in 1983 to 85 percent in 2023. There is a starker disparity between men who have college degrees and men who don’t. Employment for men with a four-year college degree has dropped by just 3 percentage points, from 95 percent to 92 percent. By contrast, employment for men without college degrees has dropped by 9 percentage points, from 87 percent to 78 percent, reflecting the challenge of getting a job in the 21st century economy with a degree. There’s also a gender gap. Men without a BA are now much less likely to be employed than women with a BA, a dramatic reversal of the picture just a few decades ago. To learn more, check out the report.

As we explain in our brief, “Small Rooms, Big Impact: Could SROs Help Fix Boston’s Housing Crisis?” https://buff.ly/i21baD0 one factor that used to help prevent homelessness was the prevalence of single-room occupancy units, known as SROs. By allowing individuals to rent small bedrooms with shared amenities for flexible durations, SROs were a useful option for single people and those who are more transient, such as new immigrants and people between jobs. These groups are among the least likely to be able to afford long-term leases, the least willing to commit to them, and the least equipped to navigate the challenges of public housing waitlists. One potential source of new SROs is office conversions. A recent report from Pew Housing Policy Initiative https://buff.ly/tddhOCw found that converting offices to SROs significantly reduces costs compared to traditional apartment conversions. Boston officials could study what role conversions could play in this city. To learn more, check out the report.

In our report, “Boys & Men in Greater Boston: Challenges in Education, Employment and Health,” https://buff.ly/JPZ9RBg we look at how boys are doing academically. On average, boys in Greater Boston generally perform well on most educational measures compared to their peers nationally. However, significant gaps exist within the region. While high-performing boys are in some respects doing better than ever, boys who are struggling are falling further behind. The same trend is playing out at the school district level: in less affluent districts, more boys are not graduating from high school. As a result, there is a double-digit gender gap in both college enrollment and completion, as well as large disparities in educational attainment for Black men. To learn more, check out the report.

Please join us on Friday, March 28, 2025, 9:30 to 11:00 a.m., for the release of the new report, “The Business of Care: Strengthening Family Child Care as a Path to Wealth Building.” https://buff.ly/ziuFCuk This event will bring together policymakers, advocates, funders, and providers to explore the essential role of home-based care in Massachusetts and the ways it can serve as a pathway to wealth building and economic stability for early educators. MassBudget will present key insights from provider program budgets and focus groups with home-based educators. A panel of experts will then discuss the implications of this research and strategies for building a thriving family child-care workforce in Massachusetts.

As we’ve explored policy ideas for unlocking more housing production in Greater Boston, we’ve seen the promise of re-embracing older approaches such as developing more single-room occupancy housing, also known as SROs, where tenants rent individual rooms and share common spaces. Typically smaller than studio apartments, SROs were more common in the past. The number of Boston’s SRO units peaked in 1895 at 55,000. By 2024, there were only 3,539 units. Now, as we explain in our brief, “Small Rooms, Big Impact: Could SROs Help Fix Boston’s Housing Crisis?” https://buff.ly/jwbvDQp there is a demand for housing that SROs could fill. We estimate that 33,000 single-person renter households in Boston are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Combining this number with the 5,898 people who are homeless in Boston, puts the potential demand for SROs in the city at 39,000 renters. Add in the thousands of people in other undesirable living situations, and estimated demand is even higher. There are considerable barriers, including zoning barriers, building regulations, uncertain financial viability, and public resistance. However, a task force, such as one set up in Vancouver, https://buff.ly/vgSOkzk could help the city weigh its options. To learn more, check out the brief.

In our report, “Boys & Men in Greater Boston: Challenges in Education, Employment and Health,” https://buff.ly/8eXA6Bi we look at a key area of concern for boys and men: mental health. While girls and women experience higher rates of depression, men account for around three-quarters of suicide deaths in Massachusetts. In 2022, the death rate from suicide was almost five times higher among men than women (14 per 100,000 compared to 3 per 100,000).?? Among our findings: ? men over the age of 85 die at the highest rates, though more men die by suicide at younger ages due to larger population sizes ? White men in Massachusetts die by suicide at the highest rates (15 per 100,000), followed by Black men (9), Latino men (8) and Asian men (5). ? Nationally, American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) men die at by far the highest rates, but in Massachusetts, their rates are low. To learn more, check out the report. ?

A close look at the data reveals that some health conditions disproportionately affect men, As we explain in our new report, “Boys & Men in Greater Boston: Challenges in Education, Employment and Health.” https://buff.ly/8eXA6Bi In Massachusetts, the leading causes of death among men in 2022 were cancer, heart disease, unintentional injuries, suicide, and COVID-19. In every age group, men died from these diseases at higher rates than women, underscoring the need to examine gender-specific health risks and behaviors. Overall men in Massachusetts can expect to live to 78, whereas for women it’s 83. Life expectancy disparities by gender are also stark within racial groups, with Latino men in Massachusetts living eight years less than Latina women and Black men living seven years less than Black women. Among men, racial disparities in life expectancy are pronounced, with Black men expected to live five years less than White men and twelve years less than AAPI men in the state. To learn more, check out the report.

Please join us at the BARI Conference 2025: Greater Boston’s Annual Insight-to-Impact Summit, on Friday, April 11th at Roxbury Community College’s Center for Economic and Social Justice. https://buff.ly/HFvVa9H Boston Indicators is a conference sponsor. The conference is an opportunity for “community leaders, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers to share how they advance data-driven research and policy in Greater Boston—and how we could do even more through collective action.” Panel topics include: ? Breakthroughs in Climate Sustainability ? Strengthening Housing Stability, and ? Pathways to Social Mobility The conference is free. And registration is open now. https://buff.ly/CNDQZJN

In our new report, “Boys & Men in Greater Boston: Challenges in Education, Employment and Health,” https://buff.ly/8eXA6Bi which we co-wrote with the American Institute for Boys and Men, we look at data that shows the need for change. In fact, a close look at the data reveals that men further down the socioeconomic ladder, particularly Black, Latino, non-college-educated, and lower-income men, are falling behind academically and economically. Why focus attention on boys and men when so much work remains to be done for girls and women? The factual answer is that there are many areas where boys and men are struggling, especially those with the least economic and social resources. The moral answer is that this is not a zero-sum game: We can do more for boys and men without doing any less for girls and women. And we know that the well-being of men directly influences the well-being of women, and vice versa. It is hard to create a world of flourishing women in a world of floundering men. To learn more, check out the report.

As we explain in our brief, “A Crisis of Trust in Federal Data,” https://buff.ly/YZPoU5P, one of the most damaging aspects of the Trump administration’s removal of publicly accessible data is the “explicit effort?to eliminate federal data collection on gender identity… part of a broader executive order directing federal agencies to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.” A memo posted on several federal websites shows that the decision to remove this data was driven by ideology, not by an evidenced-based review process. While health and demographic data that was initially deleted has been restored because of a court order, key support materials such as codebooks and questionnaires are still missing. The politicization of federal data is deeply concerning. It threatens to erode trust in federal data and to leave the country without critical knowledge about its residents. To learn more, check out the brief.