Virtual data rooms for Boston deals, audits and legal matters

What sets Boston's economy apart

Computer and electronic products is where Boston is most unlike the rest of the country: 490 establishments, a share of local businesses 2.7 times the national one. Next come ground passenger transportation (626 establishments, 1.9 times) and publishing, including software publishing (945 establishments, 1.8 times). Of the 58 metros on these pages with published figures for computer and electronic products, Boston ranks 2nd, behind Manchester, NH.

Electronics deals put patents, export-control records and engineering files in front of outside reviewers.

Transit and passenger carriers share contracts with public agencies, fleet records and insurance files. In ground passenger transportation, Boston places 3rd of 59 metros here; New York, NY leads.

How Boston compares

The Census Bureau estimated the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro's population at 5,025,517 in July 2024, up 80,785 or 1.6 percent on the April 2020 base of 4,944,732.

Measured against the 2023 estimate of 4,967,266, the same year as the business count, Boston has 59.7 offices of lawyers per 100,000 residents, 19th of the 59 metro areas on these pages against a median of 52.6; the nearest rates are Birmingham, AL at 59.7 and Orlando, FL at 61.1.

The metro with the closest number of law offices is San Francisco, CA, with 2,984; the metro closest in population, Phoenix, AZ at 5,186,958 residents, has 2,339 law offices and 2,254 accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll establishments.

Counted by accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll firms instead, Boston's nearest match is Seattle, WA, with 1,900.

• Residents, July 2024: 5,025,517
• Residents, April 2020 base: 4,944,732
• Change since 2020: +80,785 (1.6 percent), 38th of 59
• Law offices per 100,000 residents: 59.7, 19th of 59
• Accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll per 100,000 residents: 37.5, 43rd of 59
• Securities and investment per 100,000 residents: 49.9, 9th of 59
• Managing offices per 100,000 residents: 16.2, 21st of 59
• Real estate agents and brokers per 100,000 residents: 34.3, 49th of 59
• Employees in offices of lawyers: about 25,000
• Employees in accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll: about 24,000

The courts and regulators behind Boston paperwork

When a Boston dispute reaches federal court, it goes to the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, whose Boston courthouse is the John J. Moakley Courthouse.

CPAs practicing in Massachusetts are licensed by the Massachusetts Board of Public Accountancy.

If personal information in a Boston deal, audit or case file is exposed, Massachusetts's data breach notification law sets who has to be told and when.