Living in Boston during COVID-19: Economic Strains

In the Summer of 2020, the Boston Area Research Initiative (BARI) at Northeastern University, the Center for Survey Research (CSR) at University of Massachusetts Boston, and the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) conducted a survey that captures the experiences of 1626 Bostonians during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey provides unique insights into how experiences and challenges varied across the populations and neighborhoods of a single city—something not currently available from any other source, in Boston or otherwise. This third report in a series describes how the pandemic has affected the employment trajectories and economic resources of Boston’s residents. By examining how these impacts were distributed by race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and family composition, we reveal a range of inequities in how different populations have experienced financial disadvantage due to the pandemic.