Canopy Change Assessment

Boston’s citywide canopy grew significantly from 2019 to 2024—including more than 150 new acres of tree cover on public land. We also found a healthy mix of young and mature trees, meaning the canopy is poised for even more growth. Boston is moving in the right direction—but we need your help to achieve our goals. While our investments on City-managed property led to growth in the overall urban canopy, tree cover declined on private land, home to more than a third of Boston’s trees.

We've updated many of our popular datasets from the last analysis, including tree crowns, 7-class land cover, the 5-year canopy change raster, and more. We've also added some new geographies like Urban Forest Plan Priority Zones. 

Boston's tree canopy remained relatively stable from 2014 to 2019, with losses slightly outpacing gains. While tree canopy is relatively stable overall, the story is more nuanced. There were 909 acres of tree canopy gained, and 920 acres of tree canopy lost from 2014 to 2019. Relative tree canopy percent loss was widespread in the southern and eastern neighborhoods. More tree canopy was lost on Residential land than any other land use type.