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 2017, at 388,218. North Adams, MA had the lowest, at 6,059. The median was 23,490. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest388,218Boston, MA
Lowest6,059North Adams, MA
Median23,49058 cities

All cities, 2017

Boston, MA: 388,218 personsBoston, MA388,218Worcester, MA: 104,484 personsWorcester, MA104,484Cambridge, MA: 69,073 personsCambridge, MA69,073Springfield, MA: 67,990 personsSpringfield, MA67,990Lowell, MA: 60,577 personsLowell, MA60,577Quincy, MA: 57,681 personsQuincy, MA57,681Somerville, MA: 56,290 personsSomerville, MA56,290Brockton, MA: 51,767 personsBrockton, MA51,767Lynn, MA: 50,968 personsLynn, MA50,968New Bedford, MA: 47,722 personsNew Bedford, MA47,722Newton, MA: 46,900 personsNewton, MA46,900Fall River, MA: 44,797 personsFall River, MA44,797Lawrence, MA: 43,586 personsLawrence, MA43,586Waltham, MA: 38,857 personsWaltham, MA38,857Malden, MA: 38,247 personsMalden, MA38,247Framingham, MA: 37,980 personsFramingham, MA37,980Haverhill, MA: 36,105 personsHaverhill, MA36,105Medford, MA: 34,603 personsMedford, MA34,603Revere, MA: 34,197 personsRevere, MA34,197Weymouth Town, MA: 31,439 personsWeymouth Town, MA31,439Taunton, MA: 31,045 personsTaunton, MA31,045Peabody, MA: 28,211 personsPeabody, MA28,211Methuen, MA: 28,014 personsMethuen, MA28,014Chicopee, MA: 27,700 personsChicopee, MA27,700Everett, MA: 27,122 personsEverett, MA27,122Barnstable Town, MA: 26,633 personsBarnstable Town, MA26,633Salem, MA: 25,963 personsSalem, MA25,963Attleboro, MA: 25,132 personsAttleboro, MA25,132Marlborough, MA: 23,505 personsMarlborough, MA23,505Pittsfield, MA: 23,474 personsPittsfield, MA23,474Woburn, MA: 23,442 personsWoburn, MA23,442Beverly, MA: 23,179 personsBeverly, MA23,179Leominster, MA: 23,137 personsLeominster, MA23,137Fitchburg, MA: 22,322 personsFitchburg, MA22,322Braintree Town, MA: 21,815 personsBraintree Town, MA21,815Watertown, MA: 20,886 personsWatertown, MA20,886Chelsea, MA: 20,104 personsChelsea, MA20,104Westfield, MA: 19,993 personsWestfield, MA19,993Randolph Town, MA: 18,801 personsRandolph Town, MA18,801Franklin Town, MA: 17,838 personsFranklin Town, MA17,838North Attleborough Town, MA: 17,463 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA17,463Amherst Town, MA: 17,372 personsAmherst Town, MA17,372Holyoke, MA: 16,769 personsHolyoke, MA16,769Melrose, MA: 16,557 personsMelrose, MA16,557Northampton, MA: 15,501 personsNorthampton, MA15,501Gloucester, MA: 15,386 personsGloucester, MA15,386Agawam Town, MA: 15,253 personsAgawam Town, MA15,253West Springfield Town, MA: 15,251 personsWest Springfield Town, MA15,251Bridgewater Town, MA: 14,380 personsBridgewater Town, MA14,380Winthrop Town, MA: 10,635 personsWinthrop Town, MA10,635Gardner, MA: 9,766 personsGardner, MA9,766Amesbury, MA: 9,686 personsAmesbury, MA9,686Newburyport, MA: 9,176 personsNewburyport, MA9,176Southbridge Town, MA: 8,733 personsSouthbridge Town, MA8,733Easthampton, MA: 8,664 personsEasthampton, MA8,664Greenfield, MA: 8,366 personsGreenfield, MA8,366Palmer Town, MA: 6,533 personsPalmer Town, MA6,533North Adams, MA: 6,059 personsNorth Adams, MA6,059Boston, MA: 388,218 personsBoston, MA388,218Worcester, MA: 104,484 personsWorcester, MA104,484Cambridge, MA: 69,073 personsCambridge, MA69,073Springfield, MA: 67,990 personsSpringfield, MA67,990Lowell, MA: 60,577 personsLowell, MA60,577Quincy, MA: 57,681 personsQuincy, MA57,681Somerville, MA: 56,290 personsSomerville, MA56,290Brockton, MA: 51,767 personsBrockton, MA51,767Lynn, MA: 50,968 personsLynn, MA50,968New Bedford, MA: 47,722 personsNew Bedford, MA47,722Newton, MA: 46,900 personsNewton, MA46,900Fall River, MA: 44,797 personsFall River, MA44,797Lawrence, MA: 43,586 personsLawrence, MA43,586Waltham, MA: 38,857 personsWaltham, MA38,857Malden, MA: 38,247 personsMalden, MA38,247Framingham, MA: 37,980 personsFramingham, MA37,980Haverhill, MA: 36,105 personsHaverhill, MA36,105Medford, MA: 34,603 personsMedford, MA34,603Revere, MA: 34,197 personsRevere, MA34,197Weymouth Town, MA: 31,439 personsWeymouth Town, MA31,439Taunton, MA: 31,045 personsTaunton, MA31,045Peabody, MA: 28,211 personsPeabody, MA28,211Methuen, MA: 28,014 personsMethuen, MA28,014Chicopee, MA: 27,700 personsChicopee, MA27,700Everett, MA: 27,122 personsEverett, MA27,122Barnstable Town, MA: 26,633 personsBarnstable Town, MA26,633Salem, MA: 25,963 personsSalem, MA25,963Attleboro, MA: 25,132 personsAttleboro, MA25,132Marlborough, MA: 23,505 personsMarlborough, MA23,505Pittsfield, MA: 23,474 personsPittsfield, MA23,474Woburn, MA: 23,442 personsWoburn, MA23,442Beverly, MA: 23,179 personsBeverly, MA23,179Leominster, MA: 23,137 personsLeominster, MA23,137Fitchburg, MA: 22,322 personsFitchburg, MA22,322Braintree Town, MA: 21,815 personsBraintree Town, MA21,815Watertown, MA: 20,886 personsWatertown, MA20,886Chelsea, MA: 20,104 personsChelsea, MA20,104Westfield, MA: 19,993 personsWestfield, MA19,993Randolph Town, MA: 18,801 personsRandolph Town, MA18,801Franklin Town, MA: 17,838 personsFranklin Town, MA17,838North Attleborough Town, MA: 17,463 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA17,463Amherst Town, MA: 17,372 personsAmherst Town, MA17,372Holyoke, MA: 16,769 personsHolyoke, MA16,769Melrose, MA: 16,557 personsMelrose, MA16,557Northampton, MA: 15,501 personsNorthampton, MA15,501Gloucester, MA: 15,386 personsGloucester, MA15,386Agawam Town, MA: 15,253 personsAgawam Town, MA15,253West Springfield Town, MA: 15,251 personsWest Springfield Town, MA15,251Bridgewater Town, MA: 14,380 personsBridgewater Town, MA14,380Winthrop Town, MA: 10,635 personsWinthrop Town, MA10,635Gardner, MA: 9,766 personsGardner, MA9,766Amesbury, MA: 9,686 personsAmesbury, MA9,686Newburyport, MA: 9,176 personsNewburyport, MA9,176Southbridge Town, MA: 8,733 personsSouthbridge Town, MA8,733Easthampton, MA: 8,664 personsEasthampton, MA8,664Greenfield, MA: 8,366 personsGreenfield, MA8,366Palmer Town, MA: 6,533 personsPalmer Town, MA6,533North Adams, MA: 6,059 personsNorth Adams, MA6,059
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

RankCities2017
persons		Change on 2016
1Boston, MA388,218+2.4%
2Worcester, MA104,484+1.6%
3Cambridge, MA69,073+2.7%
4Springfield, MA67,990+1.8%
5Lowell, MA60,577+1.8%
6Quincy, MA57,681+1.6%
7Somerville, MA56,290+2%
8Brockton, MA51,767+1.6%
9Lynn, MA50,968+2.2%
10New Bedford, MA47,722+1.3%
11Newton, MA46,900+1.7%
12Fall River, MA44,797+1.3%
13Lawrence, MA43,586+1.7%
14Waltham, MA38,857+1.4%
15Malden, MA38,247+1.3%
16Framingham, MA37,980+2.2%
17Haverhill, MA36,105+2.4%
18Medford, MA34,603+1.5%
19Revere, MA34,197+1.4%
20Weymouth Town, MA31,439+2.8%
21Taunton, MA31,045+1.6%
22Peabody, MA28,211+1.9%
23Methuen, MA28,014+2.4%
24Chicopee, MA27,700+1.5%
25Everett, MA27,122+1.9%
26Barnstable Town, MA26,633+1.7%
27Salem, MA25,963+1.9%
28Attleboro, MA25,132+2.3%
29Marlborough, MA23,505+1.4%
30Pittsfield, MA23,474+0.7%
31Woburn, MA23,442+1.6%
32Beverly, MA23,179+2.4%
33Leominster, MA23,137+1.9%
34Fitchburg, MA22,322+1.7%
35Braintree Town, MA21,815+1.6%
36Watertown, MA20,886+3.5%
37Chelsea, MA20,104+1.3%
38Westfield, MA19,993+1%
39Randolph Town, MA18,801+3.8%
40Franklin Town, MA17,838+2.1%
41North Attleborough Town, MA17,463+1.6%
42Amherst Town, MA17,372-0.3%
43Holyoke, MA16,769+1.4%
44Melrose, MA16,557+2.2%
45Northampton, MA15,501+2.2%
46Gloucester, MA15,386+2.2%
47Agawam Town, MA15,253+1.3%
48West Springfield Town, MA15,251+1.4%
49Bridgewater Town, MA14,380+0.3%
50Winthrop Town, MA10,635+2%
51Gardner, MA9,766+1.4%
52Amesbury, MA9,686+2.3%
53Newburyport, MA9,176+2.4%
54Southbridge Town, MA8,733+1.3%
55Easthampton, MA8,664+1.9%
56Greenfield, MA8,366+1.4%
57Palmer Town, MA6,533+1.7%
58North Adams, MA6,059-0.2%

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, 2017) [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, 2017. 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=2017. 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, 2017. 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=2017.

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, 2017 [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=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_massachusetts_by_2017,
  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, 2017}},
  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=2017. 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, 2017
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=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/massachusetts-cities?period=2017.
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 388,218 in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest civilian labor force?

North Adams, MA, with 6,059 in 2017.

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