The city lies at the center of Greater Boston, which also includes the cities of Cambridge, Quincy, and Newton, the town of Brookline, and many suburban communities farther from Boston. The Greater Boston area encompasses parts of the state of New Hampshire. The city also lies at the center of the Boston-Worcester-Manchester Combined Statistical Area (CSA), the eleventh largest metropolitan area in the United States.

"In the political events which have affected the history of the entire country, and in shaping the thought of a people who have come to be a great nation, Boston has played a leading part." Boston by Henry Cabot Lodge.