Population:

15th largest U.S. State by population, with 6,593,587 people (2009 estimate).
44nd largest state in the country by area, at 10,555 square miles.

Largest city: Boston

Median income:$65,401 (2008 estimate)

Climate:
Yearly rainfall: 43.8 inches per year
Yearly snowfall: 42 inches per year in Boston; 60.8 inches per year in Worcester
Temperatures (High/Low) in capital city of Boston:
January, 36/22; July, 82/66

Foreclosures:
Foreclosure activity for 2009 dencreased in Massachusetts over the prior year. There was a total of 36,119 properties with filings. That works out to a rate of one filing for every 75 households, which compares to the United States average of 45, and is a little more than one percent of the state’s housing units.

Those figures represent a 16 percent decrease over 2008 and a 103 percent increase over 2007.

In 2008 there were about 103,800 existing homes (including condos, co-ops, and single-family homes but excluding new homes) sold in Massachusetts, compared to about 122,400 sold in 2007.

Economy:
Massachusetts's largest economic sectors are educational and health services, and trade, transportation and utilities. Financial and professional services are close behind. Once a manufacturing and textile hub, these industries now make up less than 10 percent of the Massachusetts's economy. The state's leading agricultural products are seafood and dairy—it's also the country's second biggest cranberry producer. Massachusetts's superior colleges and universities have also helped to foster a burgeoning tech sector.

Noteworthy:
Massachusetts is considered the birthplace of the American industrial revolution. The city of Lowell was the United States' first planned industrial city.