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 2018, at 398,284. North Adams, MA had the lowest, at 6,052. The median was 24,020. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest398,284Boston, MA
Lowest6,052North Adams, MA
Median24,02058 cities

All cities, 2018

Boston, MA: 398,284 personsBoston, MA398,284Worcester, MA: 106,896 personsWorcester, MA106,896Cambridge, MA: 71,573 personsCambridge, MA71,573Springfield, MA: 69,237 personsSpringfield, MA69,237Lowell, MA: 61,775 personsLowell, MA61,775Quincy, MA: 59,174 personsQuincy, MA59,174Somerville, MA: 57,808 personsSomerville, MA57,808Brockton, MA: 52,850 personsBrockton, MA52,850Lynn, MA: 52,544 personsLynn, MA52,544New Bedford, MA: 48,450 personsNew Bedford, MA48,450Newton, MA: 47,865 personsNewton, MA47,865Fall River, MA: 45,586 personsFall River, MA45,586Lawrence, MA: 44,660 personsLawrence, MA44,660Waltham, MA: 39,690 personsWaltham, MA39,690Framingham, MA: 39,439 personsFramingham, MA39,439Malden, MA: 38,994 personsMalden, MA38,994Haverhill, MA: 37,145 personsHaverhill, MA37,145Medford, MA: 35,291 personsMedford, MA35,291Revere, MA: 34,601 personsRevere, MA34,601Weymouth Town, MA: 32,615 personsWeymouth Town, MA32,615Taunton, MA: 31,661 personsTaunton, MA31,661Peabody, MA: 28,993 personsPeabody, MA28,993Methuen, MA: 28,812 personsMethuen, MA28,812Chicopee, MA: 28,274 personsChicopee, MA28,274Everett, MA: 28,063 personsEverett, MA28,063Barnstable Town, MA: 27,283 personsBarnstable Town, MA27,283Salem, MA: 26,606 personsSalem, MA26,606Attleboro, MA: 25,709 personsAttleboro, MA25,709Marlborough, MA: 24,066 personsMarlborough, MA24,066Woburn, MA: 23,973 personsWoburn, MA23,973Beverly, MA: 23,944 personsBeverly, MA23,944Leominster, MA: 23,678 personsLeominster, MA23,678Pittsfield, MA: 23,530 personsPittsfield, MA23,530Fitchburg, MA: 22,793 personsFitchburg, MA22,793Braintree Town, MA: 22,365 personsBraintree Town, MA22,365Watertown, MA: 21,466 personsWatertown, MA21,466Chelsea, MA: 20,350 personsChelsea, MA20,350Westfield, MA: 20,323 personsWestfield, MA20,323Randolph Town, MA: 19,240 personsRandolph Town, MA19,240Franklin Town, MA: 18,309 personsFranklin Town, MA18,309North Attleborough Town, MA: 17,878 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA17,878Amherst Town, MA: 17,869 personsAmherst Town, MA17,869Holyoke, MA: 17,148 personsHolyoke, MA17,148Melrose, MA: 16,903 personsMelrose, MA16,903Gloucester, MA: 15,874 personsGloucester, MA15,874Northampton, MA: 15,837 personsNorthampton, MA15,837Agawam Town, MA: 15,577 personsAgawam Town, MA15,577West Springfield Town, MA: 15,565 personsWest Springfield Town, MA15,565Bridgewater Town, MA: 14,777 personsBridgewater Town, MA14,777Winthrop Town, MA: 10,790 personsWinthrop Town, MA10,790Gardner, MA: 10,016 personsGardner, MA10,016Amesbury, MA: 9,993 personsAmesbury, MA9,993Newburyport, MA: 9,468 personsNewburyport, MA9,468Southbridge Town, MA: 8,926 personsSouthbridge Town, MA8,926Easthampton, MA: 8,815 personsEasthampton, MA8,815Greenfield, MA: 8,488 personsGreenfield, MA8,488Palmer Town, MA: 6,687 personsPalmer Town, MA6,687North Adams, MA: 6,052 personsNorth Adams, MA6,052Boston, MA: 398,284 personsBoston, MA398,284Worcester, MA: 106,896 personsWorcester, MA106,896Cambridge, MA: 71,573 personsCambridge, MA71,573Springfield, MA: 69,237 personsSpringfield, MA69,237Lowell, MA: 61,775 personsLowell, MA61,775Quincy, MA: 59,174 personsQuincy, MA59,174Somerville, MA: 57,808 personsSomerville, MA57,808Brockton, MA: 52,850 personsBrockton, MA52,850Lynn, MA: 52,544 personsLynn, MA52,544New Bedford, MA: 48,450 personsNew Bedford, MA48,450Newton, MA: 47,865 personsNewton, MA47,865Fall River, MA: 45,586 personsFall River, MA45,586Lawrence, MA: 44,660 personsLawrence, MA44,660Waltham, MA: 39,690 personsWaltham, MA39,690Framingham, MA: 39,439 personsFramingham, MA39,439Malden, MA: 38,994 personsMalden, MA38,994Haverhill, MA: 37,145 personsHaverhill, MA37,145Medford, MA: 35,291 personsMedford, MA35,291Revere, MA: 34,601 personsRevere, MA34,601Weymouth Town, MA: 32,615 personsWeymouth Town, MA32,615Taunton, MA: 31,661 personsTaunton, MA31,661Peabody, MA: 28,993 personsPeabody, MA28,993Methuen, MA: 28,812 personsMethuen, MA28,812Chicopee, MA: 28,274 personsChicopee, MA28,274Everett, MA: 28,063 personsEverett, MA28,063Barnstable Town, MA: 27,283 personsBarnstable Town, MA27,283Salem, MA: 26,606 personsSalem, MA26,606Attleboro, MA: 25,709 personsAttleboro, MA25,709Marlborough, MA: 24,066 personsMarlborough, MA24,066Woburn, MA: 23,973 personsWoburn, MA23,973Beverly, MA: 23,944 personsBeverly, MA23,944Leominster, MA: 23,678 personsLeominster, MA23,678Pittsfield, MA: 23,530 personsPittsfield, MA23,530Fitchburg, MA: 22,793 personsFitchburg, MA22,793Braintree Town, MA: 22,365 personsBraintree Town, MA22,365Watertown, MA: 21,466 personsWatertown, MA21,466Chelsea, MA: 20,350 personsChelsea, MA20,350Westfield, MA: 20,323 personsWestfield, MA20,323Randolph Town, MA: 19,240 personsRandolph Town, MA19,240Franklin Town, MA: 18,309 personsFranklin Town, MA18,309North Attleborough Town, MA: 17,878 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA17,878Amherst Town, MA: 17,869 personsAmherst Town, MA17,869Holyoke, MA: 17,148 personsHolyoke, MA17,148Melrose, MA: 16,903 personsMelrose, MA16,903Gloucester, MA: 15,874 personsGloucester, MA15,874Northampton, MA: 15,837 personsNorthampton, MA15,837Agawam Town, MA: 15,577 personsAgawam Town, MA15,577West Springfield Town, MA: 15,565 personsWest Springfield Town, MA15,565Bridgewater Town, MA: 14,777 personsBridgewater Town, MA14,777Winthrop Town, MA: 10,790 personsWinthrop Town, MA10,790Gardner, MA: 10,016 personsGardner, MA10,016Amesbury, MA: 9,993 personsAmesbury, MA9,993Newburyport, MA: 9,468 personsNewburyport, MA9,468Southbridge Town, MA: 8,926 personsSouthbridge Town, MA8,926Easthampton, MA: 8,815 personsEasthampton, MA8,815Greenfield, MA: 8,488 personsGreenfield, MA8,488Palmer Town, MA: 6,687 personsPalmer Town, MA6,687North Adams, MA: 6,052 personsNorth Adams, MA6,052
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

RankCities2018
persons		Change on 2017
1Boston, MA398,284+2.6%
2Worcester, MA106,896+2.3%
3Cambridge, MA71,573+3.6%
4Springfield, MA69,237+1.8%
5Lowell, MA61,775+2%
6Quincy, MA59,174+2.6%
7Somerville, MA57,808+2.7%
8Brockton, MA52,850+2.1%
9Lynn, MA52,544+3.1%
10New Bedford, MA48,450+1.5%
11Newton, MA47,865+2.1%
12Fall River, MA45,586+1.8%
13Lawrence, MA44,660+2.5%
14Waltham, MA39,690+2.1%
15Framingham, MA39,439+3.8%
16Malden, MA38,994+2%
17Haverhill, MA37,145+2.9%
18Medford, MA35,291+2%
19Revere, MA34,601+1.2%
20Weymouth Town, MA32,615+3.7%
21Taunton, MA31,661+2%
22Peabody, MA28,993+2.8%
23Methuen, MA28,812+2.8%
24Chicopee, MA28,274+2.1%
25Everett, MA28,063+3.5%
26Barnstable Town, MA27,283+2.4%
27Salem, MA26,606+2.5%
28Attleboro, MA25,709+2.3%
29Marlborough, MA24,066+2.4%
30Woburn, MA23,973+2.3%
31Beverly, MA23,944+3.3%
32Leominster, MA23,678+2.3%
33Pittsfield, MA23,530+0.2%
34Fitchburg, MA22,793+2.1%
35Braintree Town, MA22,365+2.5%
36Watertown, MA21,466+2.8%
37Chelsea, MA20,350+1.2%
38Westfield, MA20,323+1.7%
39Randolph Town, MA19,240+2.3%
40Franklin Town, MA18,309+2.6%
41North Attleborough Town, MA17,878+2.4%
42Amherst Town, MA17,869+2.9%
43Holyoke, MA17,148+2.3%
44Melrose, MA16,903+2.1%
45Gloucester, MA15,874+3.2%
46Northampton, MA15,837+2.2%
47Agawam Town, MA15,577+2.1%
48West Springfield Town, MA15,565+2.1%
49Bridgewater Town, MA14,777+2.8%
50Winthrop Town, MA10,790+1.5%
51Gardner, MA10,016+2.6%
52Amesbury, MA9,993+3.2%
53Newburyport, MA9,468+3.2%
54Southbridge Town, MA8,926+2.2%
55Easthampton, MA8,815+1.7%
56Greenfield, MA8,488+1.5%
57Palmer Town, MA6,687+2.4%
58North Adams, MA6,052-0.1%

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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

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, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_massachusetts_by_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/massachusetts-cities?period=2018.
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  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Cities in Massachusetts by civilian labor force using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"civilian_labor_force","level":"municipality","within":"Massachusetts","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=civilian_labor_force&level=municipality&within=Massachusetts&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which city has the highest civilian labor force?

Boston, MA, with 398,284 in 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest civilian labor force?

North Adams, MA, with 6,052 in 2018.

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