Massachusetts

Massachusetts
State
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Flag Seal
Nickname(s):  The Bay State The Pilgrim State; The Puritan State The Old Colony State The Baked Bean State[1]
Motto(s):  Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem (Latin) By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty
Anthem: All Hail to Massachusetts
Map of the United States with Massachusetts highlighted
Country	United States
Before statehood	Province of Massachusetts Bay
Admitted to the Union	February 6, 1788 (6th)
Capital (and largest city)	Boston
Largest metro and urban areas	Greater Boston
Government
• Governor	Maura Healey (D)
• Lieutenant Governor	Kim Driscoll (D)
Legislature	General Court
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	House of Representatives
U.S. senators	Elizabeth Warren (D) Ed Markey (D)
U.S. House delegation	9 Democrats (list)
Area
• Total	10,565[2] sq mi (27,337 km2)
• Land	7,840 sq mi (20,306 km2)
• Water	2,715 sq mi (7,032 km2)  26.1%
• Rank	44th
Dimensions
• Length	190 mi (296 km)
• Width	115 mi (184 km)
Elevation	500 ft (150 m)
Highest elevation (Mount Greylock[3][4])	3,489 ft (1,063.4 m)
Lowest elevation (Atlantic Ocean)	0 ft (0 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	7,029,917
• Rank	15th
• Density	840/sq mi (324/km2)
• Rank	3rd
• Median household income	$77,385[5]
• Income rank	5th
Demonym	Bay Stater (official)[6] Massachusite (traditional)[7][8] Massachusettsan (recommended by the U.S. GPO)[9] Masshole (derogatory[10] or affectionate[11])
Language
• Official language	English[12]
• Spoken language	English 77.7% Spanish 8.6% Portuguese 2.8%. Chinese 2.1%[13]
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (EDT)
USPS abbreviation	MA
ISO 3166 code	US-MA
Traditional abbreviation	Mass.
Latitude	41° 14′ N to 42° 53′ N
Longitude	69° 56′ W to 73° 30′ W
Website	www.mass.gov

Massachusetts state symbols
Flag of Massachusetts
Living insignia
Bird	Black-capped chickadee,[14] wild turkey[15][16]
Fish	Cod[16][17]
Flower	Mayflower[16][18]
Insect	Ladybug[16][19]
Mammal	Right whale,[20] Morgan horse,[21] Tabby cat,[22] Boston Terrier[23]
Reptile	Garter snake[16][24]
Tree	American elm[16][25]
Inanimate insignia
Beverage	Cranberry juice[16][26]
Colors	Blue, green, cranberry[16][27]
Dance	Square dance[16][28]
Food	Cranberry,[29] corn muffin,[16][30] navy bean,[31] Boston cream pie,[32] chocolate chip cookie,[33] Boston cream doughnut[34]
Fossil	Dinosaur Tracks[35]
Gemstone	Rhodonite[16][36]
Mineral	Babingtonite[16][37]
Poem	Blue Hills of Massachusetts[16][38]
Rock	Roxbury Puddingstone[16][39]
Shell	New England Neptune, Neptunea lyrata decemcostata[16][42]
Ship	Schooner Ernestina [16]
Slogan	Make It Yours, The Spirit of America[40]
Soil	Paxton[16]
Sport	Basketball[41]
State route marker
State quarter
Released in 2000[43]
Lists of United States state symbols

Massachusetts is a state in the United States of America. Its official name is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.^[44]

The word Massachusetts comes from Native American language. It means "place with hills."

1. ↑ Herman, Jennifer (2008). Massachusetts Encyclopedia. State History Publications, LLC. p. 7. Various nicknames have been given to describe Massachusetts, including the Bay State, the Old Bay State, the Pilgrim State, the Puritan State, the Old Colony State and, less often, the Baked Bean State
2. ↑ "Massachusetts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 21, 2015. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
3. ↑ "Greylock RM 1 Reset". NGS data sheet. U.S. National Geodetic Survey.
4. ↑ Elevation adjusted to North American Vertical Datum of 1988.
5. ↑ "Median Annual Household Income". The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
6. ↑ "Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 2, Section 35: Designation of citizens of commonwealth". The Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Archived from the original on November 23, 2008. Retrieved February 29, 2008.
7. ↑ "Collections". Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society. 1877. p. 435. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
8. ↑ Jones, Thomas (1879). DeLancey, Edward Floyd (ed.). History of New York During the Revolutionary War. New York: New-York Historical Society. p. 465. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
9. ↑ U.S. Government Publishing Office Style Manual. 2016. §5.23.
10. ↑ Nagy, Naomi; Irwin, Patricia (July 2010). "Boston (r): Neighbo(r)s nea(r) and fa(r)". Language Variation and Change. 22 (2): 270. doi:10.1017/S0954394510000062. S2CID 147556528.
11. ↑ "'Masshole' among newest words added to Oxford English Dictionary". masslive.com. 2015-06-25. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
12. ↑ Schwarz, Hunter (August 12, 2014). "States where English is the official language". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
13. ↑ "Language spoken at home by ability to speak English for the population 5 years and over—2014 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates". American FactFinder. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
14. ↑ "Black-Capped Chickadee:Massachusetts State Bird". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
15. ↑ "Wild Turkey:Massachusetts State Game Bird". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
16. ↑ ^{16.00 16.01 16.02 16.03 16.04 16.05 16.06 16.07 16.08 16.09 16.10 16.11 16.12 16.13 16.14 16.15 16.16} "Massachusetts Facts". Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
17. ↑ "Cod: Massachusetts State Fish". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
18. ↑ "Mayflower: Massachusetts State Flower". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
19. ↑ "Ladybug: Massachusetts State Insect". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
20. ↑ "Right Whale: Massachusetts State Marine Mammal". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
21. ↑ "Morgan Horse: Massachusetts State Horse". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
22. ↑ "Tabby Cat: Massachusetts State Cat". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
23. ↑ "Boston Terrier: Massachusetts State Dog". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
24. ↑ "Garter Snake: Massachusetts State Reptile". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
25. ↑ "American Elm: Massachusetts State Tree". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
26. ↑ "Cranberry Juice: Massachusetts State Beverage". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
27. ↑ "Blue—Green—Cranberry: Massachusetts State Colors". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
28. ↑ "Square Dance: Massachusetts State Folk Dance". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
29. ↑ "Cranberry: Massachusetts State Berry". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
30. ↑ "Corn Muffin: Massachusetts State Muffin". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
31. ↑ "Baked Navy Bean: Massachusetts State Bean". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
32. ↑ "Boston Creme Pie: Massachusetts State Dessert". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
33. ↑ "Chocolate Chip Cookie: Massachusetts State Cookie". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
34. ↑ "Boston Cream Donut: Massachusetts State Donut". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
35. ↑ "Dinosaur Tracks: Massachusetts State Fossil". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
36. ↑ "Rhodonite: Massachusetts State Gem". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
37. ↑ "Babingtonite: Massachusetts State Mineral". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
38. ↑ "Blue Hills of Massachusetts: Massachusetts State Poem". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
39. ↑ "Official State Rock of Massachusetts". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
40. ↑ "State Slogans". Ereferencedesk.com. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
41. ↑ Levenson, Michael (August 9, 2006). "Can you guess the state sport of Massachusetts?". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
42. ↑ "New England Neptune: Massachusetts State Shell". StateSymbolsUSA.org. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
43. ↑ "The Official Massachusetts State Quarter". theus50.com. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
44. ↑ "Massachusetts Constitution". Retrieved May 25, 2022.