Talk:Massachusetts

The facts

You soi distant—I say, that's a good one—history writers perennially state the secondary and skip the fundamental facts.

When did Massachusetts become a state? I don't see that stated.

All I see is: In the insert at top, it was a province before statehood. Well, that'd be a legitimate fact if you stated when it became a state. Instead, what does the next item say? Massachusetts was admitted to the Union in 1788. It's a non sequitur. And it invalidates the provincehood fact, because you're not telling us when provincehood ended and statehood began. As it stands, you are saying it was a province until 1788. Is that true? If so, explain how, when the Declaration called us "free and independent states" in the 1770s.

I don't mind bringing up subtleties. But I am sick of complaining about fundamental omissions, dozens of Wikipedia articles in and dozens out. Tell us the year Massachusetts changed from a province to a state. If in 1776, state it. If not until admittance to the Union in 1788, state it. If the picture is more complex—e.g., we were all unofficial states until made official when admitted to the Union—state it.

Jimlue (talk) 20:23, 31 July 2022 (UTC)

It's complicated. It was known as the Province of Massachusetts Bay until 1780, when it became the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under a new constitution. It became independent from the UK in 1776, as one of the United States. I have added these intermediate events to the infobox for clarity. What it means to be a state in the United States changed from something close to "independent state in an alliance" to "federated non-sovereign state" over time with confederation in 1781, and union in 1789. The infobox is too small to explain that, so I am hoping that anyone who is interested in that level of detail will find History of the United States. (But I'm open to more suggestions for this article.) Thanks for asking the question; the task of encyclopedia writing is indeed never-ending. -- Beland (talk) 02:16, 23 October 2025 (UTC)

This state has how many cities?

You state there are so-and-so number of cities. Well, article "List of municipalities in Massachusetts", which you link to, states another number. A count of term city in its Type column agrees with its figure, not yours.

Whoever is wrong, fix it.

Jimlue (talk) 03:01, 26 July 2023 (UTC)

Not sure who "you" is supposed to be; Wikipedia articles are written collaboratively by many editors. This article had two numbers, one of which is out of date. I dropped that, so the two articles are now in sync with the updated number. -- Beland (talk) 19:25, 23 October 2025 (UTC)

Masshole (again lol)

There's been some debate about the inclusion of "Masshole" with the last discussion being around 7 years ago, and seeming to be in agreement for its inclusion. I think it's fair to find a common solution given that it's been argued since 2006 lol. I think it should be included, especially because it has been used relatively frequently in recent news articles, has been included in the Oxford English Dictionary, and the 2nd definition on the Wikitionary page says "(Massachusetts, slang, usually self-referential) Any resident of Massachusetts." It seems a bit strange to me to have the definition be an ironic usage that refers to residents of Massachusetts but not include it here.

I don't see why to exclude it given it's growing usage, even if "unofficial". Pacamah (talk) 06:15, 7 September 2024 (UTC)

• @Pacamah: Do you think "Michigoose" and the many other extremely informal ones listed on the List of demonyms for US states and territories should be included in the infoboxes for their respective states? Needforspeed888 (talk) 19:02, 20 September 2024 (UTC)

  Maybe tbh. There are a few which have Merriam-Webster definitions, and a few which also list colloquial demonyms on their state's page as well: Arkansas, Connecticut, Ohio, Oklahoma, among others. It doesn't seem like there's any set rules of guidelines for what to add and what not to add, but I do think that as long as there is sufficient evidence for it being used, the inclusion should be warranted. I cited Kentucky, which has a Merriam-Webster definition but doesn't have it on the page, but in my opinion they should have it. If we look at the Google Trends , Corncracker has more searches than Kentuckian, and they have a dictionary listing (though intriguingly, Wikitionary doesn't list the definition). Using this same method for the Mass nicknames, , Masshole is the clear favorite. With the Merriam-Webster (and Wikitionary) entry, other pages having colloquial nicknames, preferred usage on Google, and frequent usage in news and media, I don't see why to not add it. The last actual discussion of this was in 2014 and before that in 2006, and it seems that since then (specifically post-2014) Masshole has been used fairly regularly. Pacamah (talk) 19:49, 20 September 2024 (UTC)

  I agree. It's a commonly known term which is able to be cited, as you have shown. It's mean, but it is relevant information and used internally and externally. I don't see why it shouldn't be included. Ralphusmcgee (talk) 03:02, 23 September 2024 (UTC)

  Will have to get more input for inclusion. Thus far all we have is junk sources and some Google Matrix. Moxy🍁 03:46, 23 September 2024 (UTC)

That an IP created the term on Wiktionary doesn't make it a notable demonym. That OED includes it doesn't make it a notable demonym. In fact, OED says it is used less than once in ever 100 million words. Regardless, tertiary sources aren't going to support inclusion here. The term is of course derogatory, and without significant secondary sources that discuss the usage of the demonym in more than a passing manner, inclusion here isn't going to happen. --Hammersoft (talk) 10:11, 23 September 2024 (UTC)

The term "Masshole" has been directly covered: . -- Beland (talk) 19:18, 23 October 2025 (UTC)

"State 6" listed at Redirects for discussion

The redirect State 6 has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2025 October 1 § State 6 until a consensus is reached. Thepharoah17 (talk) 16:29, 2 October 2025 (UTC)

"Best US State" Claim

I feel like the current "Massachusetts is typically recognized as the best U.S. state, as well as the most expensive state for residents to live in" claim in the lead doesn't really follow WP:Assert and isn't well supported by the given source. Also, searching up information about the best US state being Massachusetts basically just provides articles that are all re-coverage of the same WalletHub study. I'd therefore recommend the sentence be deleted to bring it in line with most other pages.

Also, the most expensive state proposition is not well supported as different sources supply different figures. See: https://meric.mo.gov/data/cost-living-data-series

I think the line about it should simply deleted. The rest of the paragraph is more encyclopedic, sound, and provides similar context. A more complete discussion of these claims can ensue further down in the article. ocean9 (talk) 05:52, 3 December 2025 (UTC)

 Done by a different editor. I will drop them a Talk page message request about replying to edit requests after they make changes. SI09 (talk) 14:32, 3 December 2025 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 12 December 2025

The demographic information is incorrect. The black/ African American percentage is 9.9% and Hispanic/Latino is at 14%. Source (https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/MA/RHI225224). Gooleyedits (talk) 14:42, 12 December 2025 (UTC)

 Not done: The figures from your link are from more recent population estimates, while the table in the article uses data from the 2020 US Census. Day Creature (talk) 17:57, 12 December 2025 (UTC)

Wikipedia always shows the decennial census, not the yearly census. It's the most accurate population estimate as American citizens get the form to fill out and send back to the census org. In 2030, we'll update it with that census report. Butterscotch5 (talk) 16:46, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

"List of Massachusetts state agencies" listed at Redirects for discussion

The redirect List of Massachusetts state agencies has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2026 January 21 § List of US state agencies until a consensus is reached. Squawk7700 (talk) 20:09, 21 January 2026 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion

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• Massachusetts!.ogg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 13:21, 3 February 2026 (UTC)