Data / Rankings / Civilian labor force / Cities in Massachusetts

Cities in Massachusetts by civilian labor force

Boston, MA had the highest civilian labor force of 58 cities in 2015, at 366,417. North Adams, MA had the lowest, at 6,159. The median was 23,173. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest366,417Boston, MA
Lowest6,159North Adams, MA
Median23,17358 cities

All cities, 2015

Boston, MA: 366,417 personsBoston, MA366,417Worcester, MA: 91,550 personsWorcester, MA91,550Cambridge, MA: 64,684 personsCambridge, MA64,684Springfield, MA: 63,811 personsSpringfield, MA63,811Lowell, MA: 54,529 personsLowell, MA54,529Quincy, MA: 52,956 personsQuincy, MA52,956Somerville, MA: 50,631 personsSomerville, MA50,631New Bedford, MA: 47,289 personsNew Bedford, MA47,289Brockton, MA: 46,991 personsBrockton, MA46,991Lynn, MA: 46,814 personsLynn, MA46,814Newton, MA: 46,713 personsNewton, MA46,713Fall River, MA: 40,007 personsFall River, MA40,007Framingham, MA: 39,773 personsFramingham, MA39,773Waltham, MA: 37,282 personsWaltham, MA37,282Lawrence, MA: 36,335 personsLawrence, MA36,335Haverhill, MA: 34,274 personsHaverhill, MA34,274Medford, MA: 33,363 personsMedford, MA33,363Malden, MA: 33,345 personsMalden, MA33,345Weymouth Town, MA: 30,453 personsWeymouth Town, MA30,453Taunton, MA: 29,697 personsTaunton, MA29,697Peabody, MA: 28,823 personsPeabody, MA28,823Revere, MA: 28,194 personsRevere, MA28,194Chicopee, MA: 28,107 personsChicopee, MA28,107Methuen, MA: 26,867 personsMethuen, MA26,867Everett, MA: 25,710 personsEverett, MA25,710Attleboro, MA: 24,440 personsAttleboro, MA24,440Barnstable Town, MA: 23,814 personsBarnstable Town, MA23,814Salem, MA: 23,808 personsSalem, MA23,808Marlborough, MA: 23,470 personsMarlborough, MA23,470Beverly, MA: 22,875 personsBeverly, MA22,875Woburn, MA: 22,651 personsWoburn, MA22,651Leominster, MA: 22,113 personsLeominster, MA22,113Pittsfield, MA: 21,761 personsPittsfield, MA21,761Watertown, MA: 21,401 personsWatertown, MA21,401Westfield, MA: 21,289 personsWestfield, MA21,289Braintree Town, MA: 20,398 personsBraintree Town, MA20,398Chelsea, MA: 19,737 personsChelsea, MA19,737Fitchburg, MA: 19,376 personsFitchburg, MA19,376Amherst Town, MA: 18,852 personsAmherst Town, MA18,852Franklin Town, MA: 17,716 personsFranklin Town, MA17,716Randolph Town, MA: 17,626 personsRandolph Town, MA17,626Holyoke, MA: 16,449 personsHolyoke, MA16,449North Attleborough Town, MA: 16,252 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA16,252Northampton, MA: 16,159 personsNorthampton, MA16,159Melrose, MA: 16,044 personsMelrose, MA16,044Agawam Town, MA: 16,039 personsAgawam Town, MA16,039Gloucester, MA: 15,531 personsGloucester, MA15,531Bridgewater Town, MA: 14,689 personsBridgewater Town, MA14,689West Springfield Town, MA: 14,681 personsWest Springfield Town, MA14,681Winthrop Town, MA: 10,322 personsWinthrop Town, MA10,322Amesbury, MA: 10,232 personsAmesbury, MA10,232Newburyport, MA: 9,844 personsNewburyport, MA9,844Easthampton, MA: 9,610 personsEasthampton, MA9,610Gardner, MA: 9,567 personsGardner, MA9,567Greenfield, MA: 9,504 personsGreenfield, MA9,504Southbridge Town, MA: 8,080 personsSouthbridge Town, MA8,080Palmer Town, MA: 6,230 personsPalmer Town, MA6,230North Adams, MA: 6,159 personsNorth Adams, MA6,159Boston, MA: 366,417 personsBoston, MA366,417Worcester, MA: 91,550 personsWorcester, MA91,550Cambridge, MA: 64,684 personsCambridge, MA64,684Springfield, MA: 63,811 personsSpringfield, MA63,811Lowell, MA: 54,529 personsLowell, MA54,529Quincy, MA: 52,956 personsQuincy, MA52,956Somerville, MA: 50,631 personsSomerville, MA50,631New Bedford, MA: 47,289 personsNew Bedford, MA47,289Brockton, MA: 46,991 personsBrockton, MA46,991Lynn, MA: 46,814 personsLynn, MA46,814Newton, MA: 46,713 personsNewton, MA46,713Fall River, MA: 40,007 personsFall River, MA40,007Framingham, MA: 39,773 personsFramingham, MA39,773Waltham, MA: 37,282 personsWaltham, MA37,282Lawrence, MA: 36,335 personsLawrence, MA36,335Haverhill, MA: 34,274 personsHaverhill, MA34,274Medford, MA: 33,363 personsMedford, MA33,363Malden, MA: 33,345 personsMalden, MA33,345Weymouth Town, MA: 30,453 personsWeymouth Town, MA30,453Taunton, MA: 29,697 personsTaunton, MA29,697Peabody, MA: 28,823 personsPeabody, MA28,823Revere, MA: 28,194 personsRevere, MA28,194Chicopee, MA: 28,107 personsChicopee, MA28,107Methuen, MA: 26,867 personsMethuen, MA26,867Everett, MA: 25,710 personsEverett, MA25,710Attleboro, MA: 24,440 personsAttleboro, MA24,440Barnstable Town, MA: 23,814 personsBarnstable Town, MA23,814Salem, MA: 23,808 personsSalem, MA23,808Marlborough, MA: 23,470 personsMarlborough, MA23,470Beverly, MA: 22,875 personsBeverly, MA22,875Woburn, MA: 22,651 personsWoburn, MA22,651Leominster, MA: 22,113 personsLeominster, MA22,113Pittsfield, MA: 21,761 personsPittsfield, MA21,761Watertown, MA: 21,401 personsWatertown, MA21,401Westfield, MA: 21,289 personsWestfield, MA21,289Braintree Town, MA: 20,398 personsBraintree Town, MA20,398Chelsea, MA: 19,737 personsChelsea, MA19,737Fitchburg, MA: 19,376 personsFitchburg, MA19,376Amherst Town, MA: 18,852 personsAmherst Town, MA18,852Franklin Town, MA: 17,716 personsFranklin Town, MA17,716Randolph Town, MA: 17,626 personsRandolph Town, MA17,626Holyoke, MA: 16,449 personsHolyoke, MA16,449North Attleborough Town, MA: 16,252 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA16,252Northampton, MA: 16,159 personsNorthampton, MA16,159Melrose, MA: 16,044 personsMelrose, MA16,044Agawam Town, MA: 16,039 personsAgawam Town, MA16,039Gloucester, MA: 15,531 personsGloucester, MA15,531Bridgewater Town, MA: 14,689 personsBridgewater Town, MA14,689West Springfield Town, MA: 14,681 personsWest Springfield Town, MA14,681Winthrop Town, MA: 10,322 personsWinthrop Town, MA10,322Amesbury, MA: 10,232 personsAmesbury, MA10,232Newburyport, MA: 9,844 personsNewburyport, MA9,844Easthampton, MA: 9,610 personsEasthampton, MA9,610Gardner, MA: 9,567 personsGardner, MA9,567Greenfield, MA: 9,504 personsGreenfield, MA9,504Southbridge Town, MA: 8,080 personsSouthbridge Town, MA8,080Palmer Town, MA: 6,230 personsPalmer Town, MA6,230North Adams, MA: 6,159 personsNorth Adams, MA6,159
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2015
persons		Change on 2014
1Boston, MA366,417+1.8%
2Worcester, MA91,550+0.4%
3Cambridge, MA64,684+1%
4Springfield, MA63,811-0.2%
5Lowell, MA54,529+0.8%
6Quincy, MA52,956+0.3%
7Somerville, MA50,631+2.2%
8New Bedford, MA47,289-0.2%
9Brockton, MA46,991+0.2%
10Lynn, MA46,814-0.2%
11Newton, MA46,713+1%
12Fall River, MA40,007-0.2%
13Framingham, MA39,773+0.6%
14Waltham, MA37,282+0.9%
15Lawrence, MA36,335+1.9%
16Haverhill, MA34,274+1%
17Medford, MA33,363-0%
18Malden, MA33,345+0.3%
19Weymouth Town, MA30,453+0.6%
20Taunton, MA29,697-0.4%
21Peabody, MA28,823-0.2%
22Revere, MA28,194-1.4%
23Chicopee, MA28,107+1.4%
24Methuen, MA26,867+1.3%
25Everett, MA25,710+3.9%
26Attleboro, MA24,440+0.9%
27Barnstable Town, MA23,814-0.1%
28Salem, MA23,808-0.5%
29Marlborough, MA23,470+0.2%
30Beverly, MA22,875+0.1%
31Woburn, MA22,651+0.6%
32Leominster, MA22,113+0.6%
33Pittsfield, MA21,761-0.5%
34Watertown, MA21,401+0.8%
35Westfield, MA21,2890%
36Braintree Town, MA20,398+0.4%
37Chelsea, MA19,737+1.3%
38Fitchburg, MA19,376-0.4%
39Amherst Town, MA18,852+0.5%
40Franklin Town, MA17,716+1%
41Randolph Town, MA17,626+0.1%
42Holyoke, MA16,449+0.8%
43North Attleborough Town, MA16,252+1.4%
44Northampton, MA16,159+0.4%
45Melrose, MA16,044+0.4%
46Agawam Town, MA16,039+0.4%
47Gloucester, MA15,531+0.4%
48Bridgewater Town, MA14,689+0.6%
49West Springfield Town, MA14,681+0.1%
50Winthrop Town, MA10,322-0.9%
51Amesbury, MA10,232+4.5%
52Newburyport, MA9,844+1.1%
53Easthampton, MA9,610+0.6%
54Gardner, MA9,567-0.3%
55Greenfield, MA9,504+0.5%
56Southbridge Town, MA8,080-0.2%
57Palmer Town, MA6,230-0.5%
58North Adams, MA6,159-1.8%

Other periods

About this ranking

Employed plus unemployed residents, annual average.

More on how it is measured
  • People aged 16 and over by place of residence, from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Active-duty military personnel and people living in institutions are excluded.

United States cities only for now. Counts people where they live, not jobs: for wage and salary jobs by state use oews_employment. BLS estimates cities by splitting county estimates with Census Bureau employment and population data and unemployment insurance claims, so city figures are less precise than state ones. BLS publishes cities of 25,000 or more, and smaller cities in New England.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average (Cities in Massachusetts by civilian labor force, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average, Cities in Massachusetts by civilian labor force, 2015. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/massachusetts-cities?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. Cities in Massachusetts by civilian labor force, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/massachusetts-cities?period=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average, Cities in Massachusetts by civilian labor force, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/massachusetts-cities?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_massachusetts_by_2015,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average: Cities in Massachusetts by civilian labor force, 2015}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/massachusetts-cities?period=2015. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average: Cities in Massachusetts by civilian labor force, 2015
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/massachusetts-cities?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/massachusetts-cities?period=2015.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Rank Cities in Massachusetts by civilian labor force using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which city has the highest civilian labor force?

Boston, MA, with 366,417 in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest civilian labor force?

North Adams, MA, with 6,159 in 2015.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Civilian labor force: other rankings

Cities in Massachusetts: more rankings