Description & Facts: With many colleges and universities within the city and surrounding area, Boston is a center of higher education and a center for medicine. The city's economy is also based on research, finance, and technology principally biotechnology. Boston ranks first in the country in jobs per square mile ahead of New York City and Washington DC. The city has been experiencing gentrification and has one of the highest costs of living in the United States, though remains high on world livability rankings.