The South End is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts. The South End lies south of the Back Bay, and northwest of South Boston, northeast of Roxbury, north of Dorchester, and southwest of
Bay Village. Despite the name, it is not directly south of the center of downtown Boston.
The South
End's population has been diverse since the 1880s when Jewish, African-American, Greek, Syrian, and Lebanese populations began to settle in the neighborhood. Today the neighborhood remains diverse, integrating people of nearly every race, religion, and sexual orientation. Income levels are anecdotaly reported as
stratified: a concentration of the wealthy and the poor. However neither the U.S. Census or City of Boston reports on income of this specific neighborhood.
While known for being a mostly upper middle class, gay/cultural neighborhood, street crime remains a serious problem. Housing in the South End is very expensive by US and
Greater Boston standards.