However, the OBBB’s change does not affect the Massachusetts estate tax exemption, which continues to sit at $2 million and does not adjust with inflation.
To learn more, check out the report.
• less than 1 percent Black,
• and less than 1 percent Latino
“Making this provision permanent will cost about $212 billion over the next 10 years, money that could have instead been used to support families with greater need.”
OBBB “permanently increases the exemption to $15 million for individuals ($30 million for couples), and this threshold will adjust with inflation moving forward,” the report explains.
The breakdown of those who are newly exempt is:
• 93.5 percent White
• 4.9 percent Asian
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) cuts the estate tax; and this cut widens the racial wealth gap because most of the people who benefit are white, as we explain in our report, “Fading Beauty: How the One Big Beautiful Bill Could Widen Wealth Inequality.” buff.ly/OnugSIL
Losing health insurance coverage makes residents vulnerable to ending up with high, out-of-pocket expenses.
To learn more, check out the report.
“Among Black residents, just 53 percent had employer-sponsored coverage and one-third (33 percent) relied on MassHealth,” the report says. “Among Hispanics, less than half had employer-sponsored coverage (44 percent), and 42 percent were enrolled in MassHealth.”
These cuts threaten Black and Hispanic residents who rely on MassHealth at higher rates than white and Asian residents.
“The new law slashes almost $1 trillion from Medicaid,” the report explains, including attaching a work requirement to Medicaid and limiting access for legal immigrants. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that “10 million Americans could lose access to health insurance between now and 2034.”
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act threatens to widen racial gaps by eroding Medicaid coverage, as we explain in our report, “Fading Beauty: How the One Big Beautiful Bill Could Widen Wealth Inequality.” buff.ly/OnugSIL
As we explain in our report, allowing for single-staircase construction could lead to more flexible housing designs that could increase construction on Boston’s many smaller lots. We estimate that this approach could produce 130,000 new homes.
To learn more, check out the news story and our report.
“Under existing building code,” the story says, “residential developments above three stories or with long hallways must have two staircases — a rule that housing advocates say impedes construction on smaller lots.”
In the news: Our report, “Legalizing Mid-Rise Single Stair Housing in Massachusetts,” buff.ly/rfKjk04 was featured in an NBC 10Boston news story buff.ly/dXgrBcD about Governor Maura Healey creating an advisory group that will study the feasibility of allowing single-staircase home construction.
Check out Kelly Harrington's post on our recent happy hour—and on the importance of building community.
buff.ly/8Cot2tS
Despite making economic progress over time, however, immigrants still face a wage gap. After 20 years, they earn $10,000 less than their U.S.-born counterparts.
"For those who have lived in the U.S. for more than a decade, the median wage climbs to $58,000. At $67,000, the median wage is even higher for immigrants who have been in the U.S. for more than 20 years.”
“Immigrants who have been in the U.S. for less than five years and work full-time jobs make a median wage of $50,000.
“While many immigrants face economic barriers both nationally and in Greater Boston, most have a clear path toward upward mobility the longer they live in the United States,” the report says.
In our report, “Global Greater Boston: Immigrants in a Changing Region,” buff.ly/G4oqmXa we note that immigrants have high rates of economic mobility.
Conference organizers include Boston Indicators’ Peter Ciurczak as well as nonprofit and data industry leaders, local funders, and the City of Boston.
Be sure to check out the website in the coming weeks to learn more about the conference’s sessions and this year’s keynote speaker.
The conference is a forum for community leaders, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers who are working at the intersection of data, policy, and community. The conference prioritizes:
• multiple forms of expertise
• innovation
• collaboration, and
• insights that communities can act on
For a deep dive into data-driven research and policy, sign up for the BARI Conference 2026: Greater Boston’s 10th Annual Insight-to-Impact Summit, buff.ly/iGu5SO3 which will be on Friday, May 8, 2026, at Northeastern University, from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
“The law’s vague locational mandate to site districts by stations 'if applicable' raises questions about which locations should be the state’s priority for multifamily development.”
To learn more, check out the report.
“Most MBTA Communities rezoning focused on industrial, office, and retail parcels or existing multifamily properties, with very little rezoning of single-family and two-family neighborhoods,” according to our report, “An Early Look at the MBTA Communities Permitting Pipeline.” buff.ly/hxiBlre
Where has the MBTA Communities Law sparked new housing production?
“Immigrants run an even higher proportion of Main Street businesses. These are the institutions that help shape the character of neighborhoods, such as restaurants, beauty salons, and convenience stores.”
To learn more, check out the report.
“In Greater Boston, immigrants make up 28 percent of all business owners, considerably higher than their 21 percent share of the population and a bit higher than their 25 percent share of the labor force,” the report says.
Immigrants in this region are more likely to start their own businesses, making a key contribution to the state economy, as we explain in our report, “Global Greater Boston: Immigrants in a Changing Region.” buff.ly/G4oqmXa
...But if Massachusetts is serious about ending its housing shortage and doing so by building in the most strategic locations, much more will be required.”
To learn more, check out the article.
“This doesn’t mean the law is a failure,” Schuster explains. “We needed to act, and MBTA Communities pushed the bounds of what was politically feasible five years ago...
And while, there are about 7,000 units in the permitting pipeline, “even if all these homes get built, and we continue this pace for several more years, the total would make a modest dent in the state’s goal of producing 220,000 new homes by 2035.”
