A historic winter is in the books, which means the return of allergy season for New Englanders. But a new study shows Bostonians might just have clearer sinuses than most.
According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America’s 2026 Allergy Capitals Report, Boston ranks 97th when it comes to high pollen among the 100 most-populated Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the contiguous 48 states.
These pollen scores are based on three categories: tree, grass, and weed pollen, over-the-counter medication use (allergy), and the number of allergy specialists in the area.
On a list where you want to be ranked near the bottom, Boston checks in with a sinus-soothing score of 60.51, nearly 20 points below the average of 80.63. Only Houston, New York City, and San Antonio scored lower.
It’s good for your nose to know that in each specific category, Boston is listed as “better than average.”
Other New England cities on the list include Providence, ranked 84th with a score of 70.59. In Connecticut, Bridgeport ranked 78th with a score of 73.14; Hartford ranked 60th with a score of 78.18; and New Haven ranked 40th with a score of 84.68. Worcester ranked a stuffy 25th with a pollen score of 89.59.
While it may not be related to our favorable pollen counts, new data from Booking.com reflects a noticeable increase in year-over-year interest for Boston. The data shows a 12.36 percent increase in search sessions for Boston between January and March 2026 over the same period last year, for check-in dates from March 1, 2026, to June 30, 2026.
Visitors may be coming for the World Cup, but either way, the latest statistics show we can all breathe a little easier in Boston.
Sam Shipman can be reached at sam.shipman@globe.com.