MetroWest is a cluster of cities and towns lying west of Boston and east of Worcester, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The name was coined in the 1980s by a local newspaper.

Geography[link]

While regional definitions vary, the MetroWest Economic Research Center at Framingham State University defines MetroWest as the nine towns of Ashland, Framingham, Holliston, Hopkinton, Natick, Sherborn, Southborough, Sudbury, and Wayland, representing a total population of approximately 184,000. With the exception of Southborough, in Worcester County, these towns are part of Middlesex County.^[1]

The 495/MetroWest Corridor Partnership calls the region the "Arc of Innovation" because it is home to many of Massachusetts' largest and fastest growing companies.^[2] In addition to the nine towns mentioned above, 23 other municipalities in Middlesex, Norfolk and Worcester counties are included in the 495/MetroWest Corridor as defined by the 495/MetroWest Corridor Partnership:

Yellow Book's MetroWest edition defines MetroWest as all cities and towns completely or partially enclosed by Interstate 93 on the northeast, Interstate 495 on the north and west, and Interstate 95 on the east and south, stretching as far north as Westford and Chelmsford, and as far northeast as Wilmington.

Origin and acceptance[link]

The MetroWest Daily News, based in Framingham (MetroWest's most populous town), circulates in most of the towns in MetroWest. The newspaper, formerly called the Middlesex News, South Middlesex News, and Framingham Evening News, held a contest to name its coverage area in 1983; MetroWest, reporter Greg Supernovich's suggestion, beat out competitors such as "Databelt" (a nod to the region's high-tech industry). The newspaper incorporated the regional name into its own name in 1999.^[3]

Originally, "MetroWest" was newspaper and real estate agent shorthand for "Framingham-Natick area", but a 1998 article in The Boston Globe showed, by examining the local phonebook, how accepted the term had become in less than ten years:^[3]

By 2006, the name had gained such widespread acceptance in Massachusetts—and was so synonymous with prosperous businesses—that the airport commission in Worcester, a half-hour drive west of Framingham, suggested changing the name of the city's airport from Worcester Regional Airport to "Worcester-MetroWest-Boston Airport".^[4]

The MetroWest Regional Transit Authority was formed in 2006.

Others[link]

In Western Massachusetts, The Republican newspaper in Springfield uses the term "Metro West" to designate the city's western suburbs (and "Metro East" on the other side of the city).

The designation "MetroWest" is also used by certain regions west of metropolitan areas in other states such as New Jersey, though the term does not appear to have achieved elsewhere the level of usage it has in Massachusetts.

References[link]

External links[link]

• MetroWest Region Chamber of Commerce

v t e  Commonwealth of Massachusetts Boston (capital) Topics Index Administrative divisions Congressional districts Culture Demographics Economy Education Elections Geography Geology Government History Images Music People Politics Sports State symbols Transportation Villages Visitor Attractions Windmills Regions The Berkshires Blackstone Valley Cape Ann Cape Cod Central Massachusetts Greater Boston The Islands Merrimack Valley MetroWest Montachusett-North County North Shore Pioneer Valley Quabbin Valley Southeastern Massachusetts South Coast South County South Shore Western Massachusetts Counties Barnstable Berkshire Bristol Dukes Essex Franklin Hampden Hampshire Middlesex Nantucket Norfolk Plymouth Suffolk Worcester Cities (see all municipalities) Agawam Amesbury Attleboro Barnstable Beverly Boston Braintree Bridgewater Brockton Cambridge Chelsea Chicopee Easthampton Everett Fall River Fitchburg Franklin Gardner Gloucester Greenfield Haverhill Holyoke Lawrence Leominster Lowell Lynn Malden Marlborough Medford Melrose Methuen New Bedford Newburyport Newton North Adams Northampton Palmer Peabody Pittsfield Quincy Randolph Revere Salem Somerville Southbridge Springfield Taunton Waltham Watertown Westfield West Springfield Weymouth Winthrop Woburn Worcester Note: Municipalities not listed have a town meeting form of government. Municipalities listed in italics have a city form of government, but have retained the name prefix "Town of " as part of their official names.