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 2020, at 391,976. North Adams, MA had the lowest, at 5,593. The median was 23,514. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest391,976Boston, MA
Lowest5,593North Adams, MA
Median23,51458 cities

All cities, 2020

Boston, MA: 391,976 personsBoston, MA391,976Worcester, MA: 103,953 personsWorcester, MA103,953Springfield, MA: 69,260 personsSpringfield, MA69,260Cambridge, MA: 68,870 personsCambridge, MA68,870Lowell, MA: 61,121 personsLowell, MA61,121Quincy, MA: 59,544 personsQuincy, MA59,544Somerville, MA: 55,611 personsSomerville, MA55,611Brockton, MA: 53,444 personsBrockton, MA53,444Lynn, MA: 53,379 personsLynn, MA53,379New Bedford, MA: 48,131 personsNew Bedford, MA48,131Lawrence, MA: 46,072 personsLawrence, MA46,072Newton, MA: 45,698 personsNewton, MA45,698Fall River, MA: 44,904 personsFall River, MA44,904Framingham, MA: 39,106 personsFramingham, MA39,106Malden, MA: 38,762 personsMalden, MA38,762Waltham, MA: 37,719 personsWaltham, MA37,719Haverhill, MA: 37,050 personsHaverhill, MA37,050Medford, MA: 35,823 personsMedford, MA35,823Revere, MA: 34,647 personsRevere, MA34,647Weymouth Town, MA: 32,635 personsWeymouth Town, MA32,635Taunton, MA: 31,544 personsTaunton, MA31,544Peabody, MA: 28,911 personsPeabody, MA28,911Methuen, MA: 28,866 personsMethuen, MA28,866Everett, MA: 28,030 personsEverett, MA28,030Chicopee, MA: 27,890 personsChicopee, MA27,890Salem, MA: 26,129 personsSalem, MA26,129Barnstable Town, MA: 25,678 personsBarnstable Town, MA25,678Attleboro, MA: 25,278 personsAttleboro, MA25,278Woburn, MA: 23,518 personsWoburn, MA23,518Leominster, MA: 23,510 personsLeominster, MA23,510Beverly, MA: 23,402 personsBeverly, MA23,402Marlborough, MA: 23,339 personsMarlborough, MA23,339Fitchburg, MA: 22,561 personsFitchburg, MA22,561Braintree Town, MA: 21,972 personsBraintree Town, MA21,972Pittsfield, MA: 21,898 personsPittsfield, MA21,898Watertown, MA: 21,129 personsWatertown, MA21,129Chelsea, MA: 20,404 personsChelsea, MA20,404Westfield, MA: 19,560 personsWestfield, MA19,560Randolph Town, MA: 19,429 personsRandolph Town, MA19,429Franklin Town, MA: 18,069 personsFranklin Town, MA18,069North Attleborough Town, MA: 17,413 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA17,413Holyoke, MA: 17,110 personsHolyoke, MA17,110Melrose, MA: 16,257 personsMelrose, MA16,257Northampton, MA: 15,986 personsNorthampton, MA15,986Gloucester, MA: 15,776 personsGloucester, MA15,776West Springfield Town, MA: 15,350 personsWest Springfield Town, MA15,350Agawam Town, MA: 15,225 personsAgawam Town, MA15,225Bridgewater Town, MA: 13,809 personsBridgewater Town, MA13,809Amherst Town, MA: 13,220 personsAmherst Town, MA13,220Winthrop Town, MA: 10,681 personsWinthrop Town, MA10,681Gardner, MA: 9,943 personsGardner, MA9,943Amesbury, MA: 9,817 personsAmesbury, MA9,817Newburyport, MA: 9,345 personsNewburyport, MA9,345Easthampton, MA: 9,013 personsEasthampton, MA9,013Southbridge Town, MA: 8,924 personsSouthbridge Town, MA8,924Greenfield, MA: 8,177 personsGreenfield, MA8,177Palmer Town, MA: 6,534 personsPalmer Town, MA6,534North Adams, MA: 5,593 personsNorth Adams, MA5,593Boston, MA: 391,976 personsBoston, MA391,976Worcester, MA: 103,953 personsWorcester, MA103,953Springfield, MA: 69,260 personsSpringfield, MA69,260Cambridge, MA: 68,870 personsCambridge, MA68,870Lowell, MA: 61,121 personsLowell, MA61,121Quincy, MA: 59,544 personsQuincy, MA59,544Somerville, MA: 55,611 personsSomerville, MA55,611Brockton, MA: 53,444 personsBrockton, MA53,444Lynn, MA: 53,379 personsLynn, MA53,379New Bedford, MA: 48,131 personsNew Bedford, MA48,131Lawrence, MA: 46,072 personsLawrence, MA46,072Newton, MA: 45,698 personsNewton, MA45,698Fall River, MA: 44,904 personsFall River, MA44,904Framingham, MA: 39,106 personsFramingham, MA39,106Malden, MA: 38,762 personsMalden, MA38,762Waltham, MA: 37,719 personsWaltham, MA37,719Haverhill, MA: 37,050 personsHaverhill, MA37,050Medford, MA: 35,823 personsMedford, MA35,823Revere, MA: 34,647 personsRevere, MA34,647Weymouth Town, MA: 32,635 personsWeymouth Town, MA32,635Taunton, MA: 31,544 personsTaunton, MA31,544Peabody, MA: 28,911 personsPeabody, MA28,911Methuen, MA: 28,866 personsMethuen, MA28,866Everett, MA: 28,030 personsEverett, MA28,030Chicopee, MA: 27,890 personsChicopee, MA27,890Salem, MA: 26,129 personsSalem, MA26,129Barnstable Town, MA: 25,678 personsBarnstable Town, MA25,678Attleboro, MA: 25,278 personsAttleboro, MA25,278Woburn, MA: 23,518 personsWoburn, MA23,518Leominster, MA: 23,510 personsLeominster, MA23,510Beverly, MA: 23,402 personsBeverly, MA23,402Marlborough, MA: 23,339 personsMarlborough, MA23,339Fitchburg, MA: 22,561 personsFitchburg, MA22,561Braintree Town, MA: 21,972 personsBraintree Town, MA21,972Pittsfield, MA: 21,898 personsPittsfield, MA21,898Watertown, MA: 21,129 personsWatertown, MA21,129Chelsea, MA: 20,404 personsChelsea, MA20,404Westfield, MA: 19,560 personsWestfield, MA19,560Randolph Town, MA: 19,429 personsRandolph Town, MA19,429Franklin Town, MA: 18,069 personsFranklin Town, MA18,069North Attleborough Town, MA: 17,413 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA17,413Holyoke, MA: 17,110 personsHolyoke, MA17,110Melrose, MA: 16,257 personsMelrose, MA16,257Northampton, MA: 15,986 personsNorthampton, MA15,986Gloucester, MA: 15,776 personsGloucester, MA15,776West Springfield Town, MA: 15,350 personsWest Springfield Town, MA15,350Agawam Town, MA: 15,225 personsAgawam Town, MA15,225Bridgewater Town, MA: 13,809 personsBridgewater Town, MA13,809Amherst Town, MA: 13,220 personsAmherst Town, MA13,220Winthrop Town, MA: 10,681 personsWinthrop Town, MA10,681Gardner, MA: 9,943 personsGardner, MA9,943Amesbury, MA: 9,817 personsAmesbury, MA9,817Newburyport, MA: 9,345 personsNewburyport, MA9,345Easthampton, MA: 9,013 personsEasthampton, MA9,013Southbridge Town, MA: 8,924 personsSouthbridge Town, MA8,924Greenfield, MA: 8,177 personsGreenfield, MA8,177Palmer Town, MA: 6,534 personsPalmer Town, MA6,534North Adams, MA: 5,593 personsNorth Adams, MA5,593
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

RankCities2020
persons		Change on 2019
1Boston, MA391,976-2.6%
2Worcester, MA103,953-2.9%
3Springfield, MA69,260-0.4%
4Cambridge, MA68,870-5%
5Lowell, MA61,121-1.3%
6Quincy, MA59,544-0.3%
7Somerville, MA55,611-4.4%
8Brockton, MA53,444+0.7%
9Lynn, MA53,379+1%
10New Bedford, MA48,131-0.3%
11Lawrence, MA46,072+2.9%
12Newton, MA45,698-4.6%
13Fall River, MA44,904-1.3%
14Framingham, MA39,106-3.3%
15Malden, MA38,762-0.7%
16Waltham, MA37,719-5.3%
17Haverhill, MA37,050-1.1%
18Medford, MA35,823+1.4%
19Revere, MA34,647+0.1%
20Weymouth Town, MA32,635-1.2%
21Taunton, MA31,544-0.5%
22Peabody, MA28,911-0.8%
23Methuen, MA28,866-0.8%
24Everett, MA28,030-0.4%
25Chicopee, MA27,890-1.8%
26Salem, MA26,129-2.3%
27Barnstable Town, MA25,678-5.4%
28Attleboro, MA25,278-1.9%
29Woburn, MA23,518-2.3%
30Leominster, MA23,510-0.9%
31Beverly, MA23,402-2.9%
32Marlborough, MA23,339-3.4%
33Fitchburg, MA22,561-0.7%
34Braintree Town, MA21,972-2.3%
35Pittsfield, MA21,898-6%
36Watertown, MA21,129-2.4%
37Chelsea, MA20,404+0.3%
38Westfield, MA19,560-4.5%
39Randolph Town, MA19,429+0.3%
40Franklin Town, MA18,069-4.7%
41North Attleborough Town, MA17,413-2.7%
42Holyoke, MA17,110-0.7%
43Melrose, MA16,257-4%
44Northampton, MA15,986+1.2%
45Gloucester, MA15,776-1.5%
46West Springfield Town, MA15,350-2.2%
47Agawam Town, MA15,225-2.8%
48Bridgewater Town, MA13,809-8.1%
49Amherst Town, MA13,220-27.8%
50Winthrop Town, MA10,681-1.4%
51Gardner, MA9,943-0.9%
52Amesbury, MA9,817-2.4%
53Newburyport, MA9,345-2.6%
54Easthampton, MA9,013+2.9%
55Southbridge Town, MA8,924-0.1%
56Greenfield, MA8,177-3%
57Palmer Town, MA6,534-3%
58North Adams, MA5,593-6.7%

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.CurrentU20-24. 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, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24

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, 2020. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/massachusetts-cities?period=2020. 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, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/massachusetts-cities?period=2020.

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, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/massachusetts-cities?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_massachusetts_by_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/massachusetts-cities?period=2020. 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.CurrentU20-24. 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, 2020
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.CurrentU20-24
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/massachusetts-cities?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/massachusetts-cities?period=2020.
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.CurrentU20-24. 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 391,976 in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest civilian labor force?

North Adams, MA, with 5,593 in 2020.

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