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 2016, at 379,014. North Adams, MA had the lowest, at 6,070. The median was 23,243. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest379,014Boston, MA
Lowest6,070North Adams, MA
Median23,24358 cities

All cities, 2016

Boston, MA: 379,014 personsBoston, MA379,014Worcester, MA: 102,799 personsWorcester, MA102,799Cambridge, MA: 67,244 personsCambridge, MA67,244Springfield, MA: 66,815 personsSpringfield, MA66,815Lowell, MA: 59,490 personsLowell, MA59,490Quincy, MA: 56,750 personsQuincy, MA56,750Somerville, MA: 55,186 personsSomerville, MA55,186Brockton, MA: 50,927 personsBrockton, MA50,927Lynn, MA: 49,869 personsLynn, MA49,869New Bedford, MA: 47,114 personsNew Bedford, MA47,114Newton, MA: 46,107 personsNewton, MA46,107Fall River, MA: 44,215 personsFall River, MA44,215Lawrence, MA: 42,840 personsLawrence, MA42,840Waltham, MA: 38,309 personsWaltham, MA38,309Malden, MA: 37,771 personsMalden, MA37,771Framingham, MA: 37,161 personsFramingham, MA37,161Haverhill, MA: 35,273 personsHaverhill, MA35,273Medford, MA: 34,076 personsMedford, MA34,076Revere, MA: 33,734 personsRevere, MA33,734Taunton, MA: 30,568 personsTaunton, MA30,568Weymouth Town, MA: 30,568 personsWeymouth Town, MA30,568Peabody, MA: 27,687 personsPeabody, MA27,687Methuen, MA: 27,365 personsMethuen, MA27,365Chicopee, MA: 27,304 personsChicopee, MA27,304Everett, MA: 26,627 personsEverett, MA26,627Barnstable Town, MA: 26,176 personsBarnstable Town, MA26,176Salem, MA: 25,484 personsSalem, MA25,484Attleboro, MA: 24,572 personsAttleboro, MA24,572Pittsfield, MA: 23,311 personsPittsfield, MA23,311Marlborough, MA: 23,174 personsMarlborough, MA23,174Woburn, MA: 23,068 personsWoburn, MA23,068Leominster, MA: 22,707 personsLeominster, MA22,707Beverly, MA: 22,640 personsBeverly, MA22,640Fitchburg, MA: 21,945 personsFitchburg, MA21,945Braintree Town, MA: 21,477 personsBraintree Town, MA21,477Watertown, MA: 20,182 personsWatertown, MA20,182Chelsea, MA: 19,841 personsChelsea, MA19,841Westfield, MA: 19,791 personsWestfield, MA19,791Randolph Town, MA: 18,117 personsRandolph Town, MA18,117Franklin Town, MA: 17,464 personsFranklin Town, MA17,464Amherst Town, MA: 17,424 personsAmherst Town, MA17,424North Attleborough Town, MA: 17,181 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA17,181Holyoke, MA: 16,537 personsHolyoke, MA16,537Melrose, MA: 16,205 personsMelrose, MA16,205Northampton, MA: 15,168 personsNorthampton, MA15,168Gloucester, MA: 15,056 personsGloucester, MA15,056Agawam Town, MA: 15,051 personsAgawam Town, MA15,051West Springfield Town, MA: 15,034 personsWest Springfield Town, MA15,034Bridgewater Town, MA: 14,331 personsBridgewater Town, MA14,331Winthrop Town, MA: 10,425 personsWinthrop Town, MA10,425Gardner, MA: 9,630 personsGardner, MA9,630Amesbury, MA: 9,464 personsAmesbury, MA9,464Newburyport, MA: 8,957 personsNewburyport, MA8,957Southbridge Town, MA: 8,620 personsSouthbridge Town, MA8,620Easthampton, MA: 8,502 personsEasthampton, MA8,502Greenfield, MA: 8,252 personsGreenfield, MA8,252Palmer Town, MA: 6,422 personsPalmer Town, MA6,422North Adams, MA: 6,070 personsNorth Adams, MA6,070Boston, MA: 379,014 personsBoston, MA379,014Worcester, MA: 102,799 personsWorcester, MA102,799Cambridge, MA: 67,244 personsCambridge, MA67,244Springfield, MA: 66,815 personsSpringfield, MA66,815Lowell, MA: 59,490 personsLowell, MA59,490Quincy, MA: 56,750 personsQuincy, MA56,750Somerville, MA: 55,186 personsSomerville, MA55,186Brockton, MA: 50,927 personsBrockton, MA50,927Lynn, MA: 49,869 personsLynn, MA49,869New Bedford, MA: 47,114 personsNew Bedford, MA47,114Newton, MA: 46,107 personsNewton, MA46,107Fall River, MA: 44,215 personsFall River, MA44,215Lawrence, MA: 42,840 personsLawrence, MA42,840Waltham, MA: 38,309 personsWaltham, MA38,309Malden, MA: 37,771 personsMalden, MA37,771Framingham, MA: 37,161 personsFramingham, MA37,161Haverhill, MA: 35,273 personsHaverhill, MA35,273Medford, MA: 34,076 personsMedford, MA34,076Revere, MA: 33,734 personsRevere, MA33,734Taunton, MA: 30,568 personsTaunton, MA30,568Weymouth Town, MA: 30,568 personsWeymouth Town, MA30,568Peabody, MA: 27,687 personsPeabody, MA27,687Methuen, MA: 27,365 personsMethuen, MA27,365Chicopee, MA: 27,304 personsChicopee, MA27,304Everett, MA: 26,627 personsEverett, MA26,627Barnstable Town, MA: 26,176 personsBarnstable Town, MA26,176Salem, MA: 25,484 personsSalem, MA25,484Attleboro, MA: 24,572 personsAttleboro, MA24,572Pittsfield, MA: 23,311 personsPittsfield, MA23,311Marlborough, MA: 23,174 personsMarlborough, MA23,174Woburn, MA: 23,068 personsWoburn, MA23,068Leominster, MA: 22,707 personsLeominster, MA22,707Beverly, MA: 22,640 personsBeverly, MA22,640Fitchburg, MA: 21,945 personsFitchburg, MA21,945Braintree Town, MA: 21,477 personsBraintree Town, MA21,477Watertown, MA: 20,182 personsWatertown, MA20,182Chelsea, MA: 19,841 personsChelsea, MA19,841Westfield, MA: 19,791 personsWestfield, MA19,791Randolph Town, MA: 18,117 personsRandolph Town, MA18,117Franklin Town, MA: 17,464 personsFranklin Town, MA17,464Amherst Town, MA: 17,424 personsAmherst Town, MA17,424North Attleborough Town, MA: 17,181 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA17,181Holyoke, MA: 16,537 personsHolyoke, MA16,537Melrose, MA: 16,205 personsMelrose, MA16,205Northampton, MA: 15,168 personsNorthampton, MA15,168Gloucester, MA: 15,056 personsGloucester, MA15,056Agawam Town, MA: 15,051 personsAgawam Town, MA15,051West Springfield Town, MA: 15,034 personsWest Springfield Town, MA15,034Bridgewater Town, MA: 14,331 personsBridgewater Town, MA14,331Winthrop Town, MA: 10,425 personsWinthrop Town, MA10,425Gardner, MA: 9,630 personsGardner, MA9,630Amesbury, MA: 9,464 personsAmesbury, MA9,464Newburyport, MA: 8,957 personsNewburyport, MA8,957Southbridge Town, MA: 8,620 personsSouthbridge Town, MA8,620Easthampton, MA: 8,502 personsEasthampton, MA8,502Greenfield, MA: 8,252 personsGreenfield, MA8,252Palmer Town, MA: 6,422 personsPalmer Town, MA6,422North Adams, MA: 6,070 personsNorth Adams, MA6,070
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

RankCities2016
persons		Change on 2015
1Boston, MA379,014+3.4%
2Worcester, MA102,799+12.3%
3Cambridge, MA67,244+4%
4Springfield, MA66,815+4.7%
5Lowell, MA59,490+9.1%
6Quincy, MA56,750+7.2%
7Somerville, MA55,186+9%
8Brockton, MA50,927+8.4%
9Lynn, MA49,869+6.5%
10New Bedford, MA47,114-0.4%
11Newton, MA46,107-1.3%
12Fall River, MA44,215+10.5%
13Lawrence, MA42,840+17.9%
14Waltham, MA38,309+2.8%
15Malden, MA37,771+13.3%
16Framingham, MA37,161-6.6%
17Haverhill, MA35,273+2.9%
18Medford, MA34,076+2.1%
19Revere, MA33,734+19.6%
20Taunton, MA30,568+2.9%
20Weymouth Town, MA30,568+0.4%
22Peabody, MA27,687-3.9%
23Methuen, MA27,365+1.9%
24Chicopee, MA27,304-2.9%
25Everett, MA26,627+3.6%
26Barnstable Town, MA26,176+9.9%
27Salem, MA25,484+7%
28Attleboro, MA24,572+0.5%
29Pittsfield, MA23,311+7.1%
30Marlborough, MA23,174-1.3%
31Woburn, MA23,068+1.8%
32Leominster, MA22,707+2.7%
33Beverly, MA22,640-1%
34Fitchburg, MA21,945+13.3%
35Braintree Town, MA21,477+5.3%
36Watertown, MA20,182-5.7%
37Chelsea, MA19,841+0.5%
38Westfield, MA19,791-7%
39Randolph Town, MA18,117+2.8%
40Franklin Town, MA17,464-1.4%
41Amherst Town, MA17,424-7.6%
42North Attleborough Town, MA17,181+5.7%
43Holyoke, MA16,537+0.5%
44Melrose, MA16,205+1%
45Northampton, MA15,168-6.1%
46Gloucester, MA15,056-3.1%
47Agawam Town, MA15,051-6.2%
48West Springfield Town, MA15,034+2.4%
49Bridgewater Town, MA14,331-2.4%
50Winthrop Town, MA10,425+1%
51Gardner, MA9,630+0.7%
52Amesbury, MA9,464-7.5%
53Newburyport, MA8,957-9%
54Southbridge Town, MA8,620+6.7%
55Easthampton, MA8,502-11.5%
56Greenfield, MA8,252-13.2%
57Palmer Town, MA6,422+3.1%
58North Adams, MA6,070-1.4%

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, 2016) [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, 2016. 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=2016. 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, 2016. 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=2016.

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, 2016 [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=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_massachusetts_by_2016,
  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, 2016}},
  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=2016. 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, 2016
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=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/massachusetts-cities?period=2016.
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 379,014 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest civilian labor force?

North Adams, MA, with 6,070 in 2016.

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