THE TERM “Gateway City” was first coined in a 2007 report published by MassINC (the nonprofit civic organization that also publishes CommonWealth Beacon) and originally described just 11 midsize cities outside of Greater Boston that were, and still are, struggling regional economic centers. These cities were major manufacturing hubs yet suffered from the same decline that beset much of the country in the decades since World War II.

But they are also communities with assets – historic architecture, museums, universities, and walkable neighborhoods and downtowns – that make them attractive places for investment. They are home to nearly 40 percent of the state’s foreign-born residents, and for many, they are a “gateway” to the American dream.

In 2009 and 2010, Beacon Hill took note of these communities around the state and recognized the need to financially support their economic development efforts. The Legislature codified an official definition of Gateway Cities in state law and began setting aside funds to help redevelop the qualifying communities.

But despite lawmakers’ good intentions, the statute failed to create a clear enforcement mechanism to periodically review each city’s eligibility. Over time, some cities have met the state’s criteria without being added to the list, while others no longer qualify yet continue to reap the benefits. Beacon Hill hasn’t made changes to the list of qualifying cities since 2013. Since then, oversight of the designations seems to have been lost.

State statute defines a Gateway City as any city with a population greater than 35,000 but less than 250,000, a median household income below the statewide average, and a rate of educational attainment of a bachelor’s degree or higher that is below the state average. Under that definition, 24 cities originally qualified for the status under the law. But in 2013, former Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration added Attleboro and Peabody to the list after their median household incomes dipped below the statewide average, bringing the total to 26.

Today, those 26 former industrial cities continue to compete for tax credits and millions of dollars in housing and economic development funds from a number of programs that target Gateway Cities. Over the years, there have been many legislative attempts to revise the state’s eligibility criteria – none of which have been successful.

But there are three current Gateway Cities – Salem, Methuen, and Quincy – that do not qualify for the status under the state’s current criteria. Methuen’s median household income has just surpassed the state average. Data from the most recent five-year American Community Survey show that nearly 50 percent of Salem residents have a bachelor’s degree or higher – a bit more than the statewide average. In Quincy, nearly 49 percent of residents now have a bachelor’s degree or higher, just surpassing the state average.

Two cities – Weymouth and Marlborough – now meet all three criteria to be considered Gateway Cities under state statute, according to the Census Bureau’s most recent data, yet they are not reaping the benefits of the designation.

So, who is in charge of the designations? Beacon Hill doesn’t seem to know.

The statute doesn’t charge an office, department, or agency with periodically reviewing which cities meet the criteria, leaving no path for cities to be added or removed. It also doesn’t explicitly state which entity is supposed to enforce the law. However, the tax incentive program under which the legal definition of Gateway Cities was created – the Economic Development Incentive Program, which awards tax credits for job creation – is overseen by the secretary of economic development.

The Executive Office of Economic Development emphasized that it remains committed to providing funding and programs to Gateway Cities but argued that the statute does not authorize or require them to review which cities and towns meet the criteria. The office did not respond when asked if Secretary Eric Paley would rectify the situation.

State Rep. Antonio Cabral, a New Bedford Democrat who co-chairs the Gateway Cities Legislative Caucus, said even if a community meets all three criteria and wants to be considered a Gateway City, it needs to have a history of deindustrialization and should be a regional center of economic activity – even though those “requirements” are not actually written in the state law.

“Sometimes we read the so-called metrics or criteria too literally,” he said. “That historical designation is not written down in any way, but that’s part of the concept.”

It’s true that Marlborough and Weymouth meet the “letter” of the law, but when asked if they meet the “spirit” of the law, Cabral hedged.

“I think I would leave it in the form of a question. Do they think they meet that historical definition?” he said.

Cabral said he would be opposed to removing cities from the official list because they no longer meet all three criteria, arguing that it is in the state’s interest to continue investing in the development of those cities. But he also emphasized that funding for the 26 Gateway Cities is already limited, and programs like the Housing Development Incentive Program – a market-rate housing tax incentive program exclusively for Gateway Cities – are competitive enough as it is.

“My role is to make sure that we don’t keep dividing the pot. My role is to make sure that pot gets fuller,” Cabral said.

Sen. John Cronin, a Fitchburg Democrat who also chairs the Gateway Cities Legislative Caucus, had a different take.

“I am a proponent of addition,” Cronin said. “The bigger coalition that you can build of communities that are advocating together for equitable state investments, community development, and economic development benefits everybody in the state.”

Cronin argued that Quincy, Salem, and Methuen are proof that the state’s targeted grant programs and funding opportunities are working and have helped to create more mixed-income communities. In order for the definition of a Gateway City to change, or for a new city to be added, Cronin said the Legislature would need to act.

“There are more conversations happening in the Legislature now between members than I have seen in the past about whether we should increase the size or relook at what makes a Gateway City,” he said.

Cabral believes Gov. Maura Healey’s administration and the Executive Office of Economic Development are the ones in control of the policy, and legislation is not necessary. Healey’s office declined to answer questions about whether her administration would tweak the current list as former Gov. Patrick’s administration did in 2013.

All of this has left lawmakers like Sen. Jamie Eldridge, who represents Marlborough, confused. He told CommonWealth Beacon he is trying to understand how the city can officially be considered for the grants and benefits, but his questions have gone mostly unanswered.

“So far in our outreach to the Executive Office of Economic Development, there has been no point person for Gateway Cities to make this inquiry,” Eldridge said. “I’m trying to get more answers on what the Legislature plans to do on this, or the executive branch.”

Eldridge said the funding, grants, and tax incentives would be “significant” for Marlborough, which has struggled to build enough affordable housing.

Gateway Cities are eligible and prioritized for multiple state aid programs, including the Gateway Housing Rehabilitation Program, which provides funds to develop blighted residential properties, Greening the Gateway Cities, which provides grants to cities and nonprofits for tree planting, and the Transformative Development Initiative, which provides assistance and grants to support economic growth in Gateway City downtowns and commercial districts.

“There are current Gateway Cities that have become wealthier, and if the general idea is that a Gateway City is supposed to be prioritized because it’s either less well off or is unable to do the investments on its own, how does that impact the bigger discussion about how to most wisely use our taxpayer dollars?” Eldridge said.

Sen. Patrick O’Connor, a Republican who represents Weymouth, only recently realized the city meets the criteria after CommonWealth Beacon reached out. He said in an interview that he is excited about Weymouth’s eligibility, which could open the door to valuable economic development funding opportunities for the city.

“It’d be huge. We have one of the largest undeveloped parcels of land in the entire state … we also have no downtown in Weymouth,” O’Connor said. “We’re excited to learn about the process, or help in the creation of the process for that matter.”

Recognizing that the statute is vague, O’Connor emphasized the need to “tighten up the process in which this all happens.”

“The long-term goal of the Gateway City designation is to … have growth and development inside of your community that will lead you, hopefully, to a point in time where the designation is no longer necessary,” O’Connor said.

Recently, lawmakers have raised questions and proposals seeking to define Gateway Cities in a way that encompasses more communities.

State Sen. Bill Driscoll, who represents the town of Randolph which has long hovered near the threshold of the state’s three criteria, introduced a bill in 2025 that would add two additional criteria – having a population makeup of at least 40 percent people of color and having 15 percent or more of households that speak English less than “very well.”

Municipalities meeting any three of the five categories would be considered a Gateway City. Under that definition, Randolph would qualify, but so would seven other towns and cities, including Boston and a town of less than 5,000 on the island of Martha’s Vineyard.

The bill would also charge the secretary of economic development with certifying which municipalities qualify after each decennial census and would give the office the ability to move a community on or off the list at any point mid-decade using annual estimates from the Census Bureau.

Another bill proposed in 2025 by Sen. Paul Mark – representing Berkshire County and the westernmost towns of Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties – would allow two or more municipalities to combine to satisfy the first criterion, which requires a qualifying city’s population to be greater than 35,000.

The Legislature may be hesitant to add or remove cities from the list now. Two of the four most powerful people in the Massachusetts state government have ties to the Gateway Cities coalition.

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll was the former mayor of Salem – a city that technically no longer qualifies for the designation. And in order for legislative action to be taken, House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka would need to be on board. But the speaker appears to be in the middle of the issue – literally. His district is made up of parts of both Quincy, a city that no longer qualifies, and Weymouth, a city that does. Mariano’s office declined to comment on the matter. Spilka did not respond to a request for comment.

Lawmakers’ longstanding desire for the cities and towns they represent to be considered for the opportunities set aside for Gateway Cities is nothing new. But when the term was first coined, there was some resistance it, according to John Schneider, interim president and CEO of MassINC at the time of the 2007 report. It was first seen as a negative label for low-income, struggling cities.

Schneider developed the “Gateway City” name to describe the communities in a positive way, rather than referring to them as “third tier” or “weak market” cities. They were and still are a gateway to the American dream and the middle class, he said.

“All of a sudden, these cities were being reframed as places of opportunity, so legislators wanted to define the communities in a way that resulted in more cities being designated as Gateway Cities and benefiting from the programs that were being developed,” Schneider said.

As for the three cities that no longer meet all three criteria, some have raised concerns.

The Patriot Ledger reported in June on local objections to a zoning change in Quincy that resulted in a new developer being eligible for significant tax breaks on a large-scale residential and retail project in the city center. The zoning change qualified the projects for tax incentives through the Housing Development Incentive Program. One resident compared the proposal to welfare fraud, arguing the tax breaks were unwarranted because Quincy is no longer a Gateway City by law.

If neither Healey, the Executive Office of Economic Development, nor the Legislature acts, the current list of Gateway Cities will likely remain unchanged.

“Just speaking to the financial realities of where the state is, I think there probably would be some concern about dramatically expanding which communities have that Gateway City status,” Eldridge said.