According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Massachusetts is the fastest growing state in the Northeast. Since 2010, the population in the Bay State has grown by an estimated 5.4 percent, making it the home to almost 7 million residents. Many of its newest residents come from other countries.

A robust population brings many benefits, but also many challenges along transportation and infrastructure lines. Elected leaders must move forward with improvements to public transportation and address the housing crisis or like many other states, we could see the population begin to trend in the other direction.