Metro area directory
Colleges in the Greater Boston Area
CampusPin lists 42 colleges and universities across the Greater Boston metro, 38 universities and 4 community colleges, with 5 public and 37 private institutions across 9 cities.
Greater Boston includes the city plus Cambridge, Newton, Waltham, Medford, and other inner-ring communities. One of the most college-dense regions in the United States, it is known for private research universities and liberal-arts colleges alongside public institutions.
Greater Boston colleges by the numbers
- Public / private
- 5 public · 37 private
- 4-year / 2-year
- 38 universities · 4 community colleges
- Cities covered
- 9
- Largest by enrollment
- Boston University
- Lowest published tuition
- Bunker Hill Community College ($5,520)
- Published tuition range
- $5,520–$67,844
Among the 42 colleges in the Greater Boston area, Boston University is the largest by enrollment; Bunker Hill Community College has the lowest published in-state tuition at $5,520; Harvard University is the most selective at a 3% acceptance rate. Published figures are sticker price, not net price, compare net price and outcomes on each profile.
Local labor market
Across all occupations in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports an annual median wage of $64,620 (2,707,940 jobs), in its May 2024 OEWS estimate. This is a whole-economy figure for the metro, not a starting salary or a graduate or field-specific wage, but it is a useful gauge of local pay levels and cost of living when weighing colleges here.
Local pay for common roles
Annual median wage in this metro for occupations tied to popular majors (BLS OEWS, May 2024).
- Software Developers$154,240
- General and Operations Managers$129,850
- Mechanical Engineers$124,160
- Registered Nurses$102,440
- Accountants and Auditors$97,580
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education$86,600
Local pay reflects the metro labor market, not what any one college's graduates earn. For how a school's cost lines up with student outcomes, see college cost vs. graduation and earnings.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024, all occupations (SOC 00-0000), CBSA 14460.
Colleges by city in the Greater Boston area
Boston (24)
- Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of TechnologyUniv · Private
- Berklee College of MusicUniv · Private
- Boston Architectural CollegeUniv · Private
- Boston Baptist CollegeUniv · Private
- Boston UniversityUniv · Private
- Bunker Hill Community CollegeCC · Public
- Cambridge CollegeUniv · Private
- Emerson CollegeUniv · Private
- Emmanuel CollegeUniv · Private
- Fisher CollegeUniv · Private
- Massachusetts College of Art and DesignUniv · Public
- MCPHS UniversityUniv · Private
- MGH Institute of Health ProfessionsUniv · Private
- New England College of OptometryUniv · Private
- New England Law-BostonUniv · Private
- Northeastern UniversityUniv · Private
- Northeastern University Professional ProgramsUniv · Private
- Sattler CollegeUniv · Private
- Simmons UniversityUniv · Private
- Suffolk UniversityUniv · Private
- The New England Conservatory of MusicUniv · Private
- University of Massachusetts BostonUniv · Public
- Urban College of BostonCC · Private
- Wentworth Institute of TechnologyUniv · Private
Cambridge (5)
Newton (3)
Chestnut Hill (1)
Wellesley Hills (1)
Compare and search across the Greater Boston area
Filter every Massachusetts college by tuition, size, acceptance rate, and setting, then pin and compare your shortlist side by side, no account required.
Other major U.S. metro areas
- Colleges in the New York City area
- Colleges in the Greater Los Angeles area
- Colleges in the Greater Chicago area
- Colleges in the Dallas–Fort Worth area
- Colleges in the Greater Houston area
- Colleges in the San Francisco Bay Area area
- Colleges in the Washington, D.C. area
- Colleges in the Greater Philadelphia area
Data sources & methodology
College listings for the Greater Boston metro are aggregated live from each institution's record, compiled from federal datasets and the institutions' own published information.
Sources used across this page
Not every source informs every figure. Each data point draws on the source appropriate to it see the relevant section and the data dictionary for field-level provenance.
IPEDS / NCES College Navigator
Federal enrollment, admissions, tuition, retention, and program data. Released annually with a 1–2 year lag.
U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard
Net price by income band, post-graduation earnings, and federal aid context.
Institutional websites
Each school's official admissions, registrar, and financial-aid pages are the authoritative source for current details.
Where a value is unavailable it is shown as unavailable, never as 0, free, or a negative judgment. Always confirm final details with the institution before applying.
Suggested citation
CampusPin. Colleges in the Greater Boston Area. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/colleges-in-metro/boston