Massachusetts, one of the six New England states, and one of the first 13 states in the Union (it entered on February 6, 1788), Massachusetts is known as the "Old Colony State." Massachusetts is bordered on the north by New Hampshire and Vermont, on the west by New York, on the south by Connecticut and Rhode Island, and on the east by the Atlantic Ocean. The islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket lie off the southeast coast. Boston is the largest city; however, most of the population of the Boston metropolitan area (approximately 4,000,000) does not live in the city. Massachusetts is the 44th biggest state in the USA with an area of 10,555 square miles.