LUNA MAPS / PLACE INTELLIGENCE
Economic Atlas · 2026 edition
Two cities. Two economic engines.

Boston ×
Miami

A comparative view of economic output, employment, industry structure, and resident income — and what the differences reveal about regional competitiveness.

Reading the data responsiblyFull-year 2026 statistics are not yet available. This atlas combines the latest published official measures, with each chart labeled by its actual reference period. Metro and city geographies are kept distinct.
Metro GDP · 2023
$610.5B
Boston metropolitan area
Metro GDP · 2023
$533.7B
Miami metropolitan area
Miami job growth
+1.4%
Year over year · May 2025
Household income gap
+56%
Boston vs. Miami city · 2020–24
01 / Output

Economic scale

Metropolitan GDP captures the size of the regional economy — not the income of a typical resident.

Gross domestic product

Metro area · 2023 · current dollars
Boston metro
$610.5B
Miami metro
$533.7B
What it suggests
Boston's economy was roughly 14% larger on this historical measure. Miami's strategic role as a global gateway is not fully expressed by GDP size alone.

Important: BEA discontinued the metropolitan-area GDP series in 2026. Treat these as historical comparison figures, not 2026 estimates. See sources.

Jobs: a different momentum

Net change in total nonfarm payroll employment
Miami
+42,900
Boston
−2,200
Miami: +1.4%
May 2024–May 2025. Boston: approximately −0.1% from June 2024–June 2025. Reporting months differ, so this is directional, not a perfectly synchronized comparison.

Payroll jobs are jobs at establishments, not the number of employed residents. Figures can be revised.

02 / Economic DNA

Two industry profiles

Different concentrations create different advantages — and different opportunities for economic development.

Knowledge engine
Boston

Research, specialized talent, and commercialization

  • Life sciences, biotech, and medical research
  • Universities, hospitals, and higher education
  • Professional and business services
  • Technology, AI, robotics, and advanced research
  • Finance and asset management
Strategic strength
Dense research-to-market relationships can help turn knowledge into patents, startups, specialized jobs, and productivity.
Global gateway
Miami

International connections, trade, and services

  • International trade, transportation, and logistics
  • Finance, wealth management, and international business
  • Tourism, hospitality, and real estate
  • Healthcare and education
  • Aviation, marine industries, and emerging technology
Strategic opportunity
Connect global capital and trade networks more deeply to local innovation, advanced services, and high-wage employment.
03 / Employment mix

Where Miami added jobs

Selected industries with positive year-over-year payroll changes, May 2024–May 2025.

Net job gains by industry

Miami metropolitan area · thousands of jobs
Trade and transportation, alongside education and health services, were major sources of job growth. This indicates a broader employment story than tourism or real estate alone.

Selected BLS supersectors only; values are rounded. This is not a full breakdown of all jobs gained or lost.

04 / Resident prosperity

Income is not GDP

City-level household and per-capita income give a more direct, though still incomplete, view of residents' economic circumstances.

Median household income

City proper · ACS 2020–2024 · 2024 dollars
Boston
$97,344
Miami
$62,462

Median household income is the midpoint across households, not the average salary of a worker.

Per capita income

City proper · ACS 2020–2024 · 2024 dollars
Boston
$61,698
Miami
$45,837

Per-capita income divides aggregate income by population. It is not median individual earnings.

City-level indicators at a glance

Boston city vs. Miami city · not metro areas
IndicatorBostonMiamiDifference
Median household income$97,344$62,462Boston +56%
Per capita income$61,698$45,837Boston +35%
Population below poverty line16.6%19.4%Miami +2.8 pp

U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, 2020–2024 estimates. Poverty figures are included as a distributional context, not as a complete measure of affordability or wellbeing.

05 / Strategic readout

What the comparison means

These are evidence-informed hypotheses for further analysis, not claims that one city is universally better.

01

Boston: deepen commercialization

Protect the links between research institutions, capital, startups, and specialized talent — and track whether research strengths translate into durable job creation.

02

Miami: raise value per job

Build stronger pathways from global trade, aviation, finance, and healthcare into technology adoption, advanced services, and higher-wage occupations.

03

Both: connect the ecosystem

Map where universities, firms, investors, public agencies, and workforce organizations connect — and where gaps slow innovation or limit access to opportunity.

06 / Methodology

Sources & definitions

Always compare like with like. Reference years and geographic boundaries matter.

Important limitation: This is a 2026-oriented briefing, not a dataset in which every value is measured in 2026. Figures are the latest periods specified above and should be refreshed when new official releases become available. GDP uses metropolitan geographies; income uses municipal geographies.