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 2023, at 394,455. North Adams, MA had the lowest, at 5,546. The median was 24,062. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest394,455Boston, MA
Lowest5,546North Adams, MA
Median24,06258 cities

All cities, 2023

Boston, MA: 394,455 personsBoston, MA394,455Worcester, MA: 107,339 personsWorcester, MA107,339Cambridge, MA: 72,163 personsCambridge, MA72,163Springfield, MA: 66,867 personsSpringfield, MA66,867Lowell, MA: 62,777 personsLowell, MA62,777Quincy, MA: 60,316 personsQuincy, MA60,316Somerville, MA: 57,305 personsSomerville, MA57,305Brockton, MA: 53,128 personsBrockton, MA53,128Lynn, MA: 52,419 personsLynn, MA52,419New Bedford, MA: 47,748 personsNew Bedford, MA47,748Newton, MA: 47,323 personsNewton, MA47,323Fall River, MA: 45,170 personsFall River, MA45,170Lawrence, MA: 43,889 personsLawrence, MA43,889Framingham, MA: 39,781 personsFramingham, MA39,781Waltham, MA: 39,054 personsWaltham, MA39,054Malden, MA: 37,962 personsMalden, MA37,962Haverhill, MA: 36,951 personsHaverhill, MA36,951Medford, MA: 36,294 personsMedford, MA36,294Weymouth Town, MA: 34,478 personsWeymouth Town, MA34,478Revere, MA: 32,628 personsRevere, MA32,628Taunton, MA: 32,467 personsTaunton, MA32,467Methuen, MA: 29,104 personsMethuen, MA29,104Peabody, MA: 28,947 personsPeabody, MA28,947Everett, MA: 28,479 personsEverett, MA28,479Chicopee, MA: 27,563 personsChicopee, MA27,563Salem, MA: 27,021 personsSalem, MA27,021Barnstable Town, MA: 26,771 personsBarnstable Town, MA26,771Attleboro, MA: 25,813 personsAttleboro, MA25,813Woburn, MA: 24,354 personsWoburn, MA24,354Beverly, MA: 23,769 personsBeverly, MA23,769Marlborough, MA: 23,599 personsMarlborough, MA23,599Leominster, MA: 23,563 personsLeominster, MA23,563Fitchburg, MA: 22,489 personsFitchburg, MA22,489Braintree Town, MA: 22,290 personsBraintree Town, MA22,290Pittsfield, MA: 21,834 personsPittsfield, MA21,834Watertown, MA: 21,627 personsWatertown, MA21,627Westfield, MA: 19,667 personsWestfield, MA19,667Chelsea, MA: 19,661 personsChelsea, MA19,661Franklin Town, MA: 19,373 personsFranklin Town, MA19,373Randolph Town, MA: 19,265 personsRandolph Town, MA19,265Amherst Town, MA: 18,401 personsAmherst Town, MA18,401North Attleborough Town, MA: 17,905 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA17,905Melrose, MA: 16,500 personsMelrose, MA16,500Holyoke, MA: 16,493 personsHolyoke, MA16,493Gloucester, MA: 15,967 personsGloucester, MA15,967Northampton, MA: 15,942 personsNorthampton, MA15,942West Springfield Town, MA: 15,325 personsWest Springfield Town, MA15,325Bridgewater Town, MA: 15,321 personsBridgewater Town, MA15,321Agawam Town, MA: 15,132 personsAgawam Town, MA15,132Winthrop Town, MA: 10,411 personsWinthrop Town, MA10,411Amesbury, MA: 9,921 personsAmesbury, MA9,921Gardner, MA: 9,824 personsGardner, MA9,824Newburyport, MA: 9,793 personsNewburyport, MA9,793Southbridge Town, MA: 8,952 personsSouthbridge Town, MA8,952Easthampton, MA: 8,210 personsEasthampton, MA8,210Greenfield, MA: 8,064 personsGreenfield, MA8,064Palmer Town, MA: 6,486 personsPalmer Town, MA6,486North Adams, MA: 5,546 personsNorth Adams, MA5,546Boston, MA: 394,455 personsBoston, MA394,455Worcester, MA: 107,339 personsWorcester, MA107,339Cambridge, MA: 72,163 personsCambridge, MA72,163Springfield, MA: 66,867 personsSpringfield, MA66,867Lowell, MA: 62,777 personsLowell, MA62,777Quincy, MA: 60,316 personsQuincy, MA60,316Somerville, MA: 57,305 personsSomerville, MA57,305Brockton, MA: 53,128 personsBrockton, MA53,128Lynn, MA: 52,419 personsLynn, MA52,419New Bedford, MA: 47,748 personsNew Bedford, MA47,748Newton, MA: 47,323 personsNewton, MA47,323Fall River, MA: 45,170 personsFall River, MA45,170Lawrence, MA: 43,889 personsLawrence, MA43,889Framingham, MA: 39,781 personsFramingham, MA39,781Waltham, MA: 39,054 personsWaltham, MA39,054Malden, MA: 37,962 personsMalden, MA37,962Haverhill, MA: 36,951 personsHaverhill, MA36,951Medford, MA: 36,294 personsMedford, MA36,294Weymouth Town, MA: 34,478 personsWeymouth Town, MA34,478Revere, MA: 32,628 personsRevere, MA32,628Taunton, MA: 32,467 personsTaunton, MA32,467Methuen, MA: 29,104 personsMethuen, MA29,104Peabody, MA: 28,947 personsPeabody, MA28,947Everett, MA: 28,479 personsEverett, MA28,479Chicopee, MA: 27,563 personsChicopee, MA27,563Salem, MA: 27,021 personsSalem, MA27,021Barnstable Town, MA: 26,771 personsBarnstable Town, MA26,771Attleboro, MA: 25,813 personsAttleboro, MA25,813Woburn, MA: 24,354 personsWoburn, MA24,354Beverly, MA: 23,769 personsBeverly, MA23,769Marlborough, MA: 23,599 personsMarlborough, MA23,599Leominster, MA: 23,563 personsLeominster, MA23,563Fitchburg, MA: 22,489 personsFitchburg, MA22,489Braintree Town, MA: 22,290 personsBraintree Town, MA22,290Pittsfield, MA: 21,834 personsPittsfield, MA21,834Watertown, MA: 21,627 personsWatertown, MA21,627Westfield, MA: 19,667 personsWestfield, MA19,667Chelsea, MA: 19,661 personsChelsea, MA19,661Franklin Town, MA: 19,373 personsFranklin Town, MA19,373Randolph Town, MA: 19,265 personsRandolph Town, MA19,265Amherst Town, MA: 18,401 personsAmherst Town, MA18,401North Attleborough Town, MA: 17,905 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA17,905Melrose, MA: 16,500 personsMelrose, MA16,500Holyoke, MA: 16,493 personsHolyoke, MA16,493Gloucester, MA: 15,967 personsGloucester, MA15,967Northampton, MA: 15,942 personsNorthampton, MA15,942West Springfield Town, MA: 15,325 personsWest Springfield Town, MA15,325Bridgewater Town, MA: 15,321 personsBridgewater Town, MA15,321Agawam Town, MA: 15,132 personsAgawam Town, MA15,132Winthrop Town, MA: 10,411 personsWinthrop Town, MA10,411Amesbury, MA: 9,921 personsAmesbury, MA9,921Gardner, MA: 9,824 personsGardner, MA9,824Newburyport, MA: 9,793 personsNewburyport, MA9,793Southbridge Town, MA: 8,952 personsSouthbridge Town, MA8,952Easthampton, MA: 8,210 personsEasthampton, MA8,210Greenfield, MA: 8,064 personsGreenfield, MA8,064Palmer Town, MA: 6,486 personsPalmer Town, MA6,486North Adams, MA: 5,546 personsNorth Adams, MA5,546
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

RankCities2023
persons		Change on 2022
1Boston, MA394,455+1.8%
2Worcester, MA107,339+1.3%
3Cambridge, MA72,163+1.6%
4Springfield, MA66,867-1.2%
5Lowell, MA62,777+0.7%
6Quincy, MA60,316+1.1%
7Somerville, MA57,305+1.3%
8Brockton, MA53,128+1.2%
9Lynn, MA52,419+0.6%
10New Bedford, MA47,748+0.8%
11Newton, MA47,323+1.6%
12Fall River, MA45,170+1.1%
13Lawrence, MA43,889+0.3%
14Framingham, MA39,781+0.9%
15Waltham, MA39,054+1%
16Malden, MA37,962+0.8%
17Haverhill, MA36,951+0.8%
18Medford, MA36,294+1%
19Weymouth Town, MA34,478+4.1%
20Revere, MA32,628+0.8%
21Taunton, MA32,467+2.8%
22Methuen, MA29,104+0.5%
23Peabody, MA28,947+1.2%
24Everett, MA28,479+2%
25Chicopee, MA27,563-0.2%
26Salem, MA27,021+1.9%
27Barnstable Town, MA26,771+1.6%
28Attleboro, MA25,813+1.3%
29Woburn, MA24,354+1.2%
30Beverly, MA23,769+0.9%
31Marlborough, MA23,599+0.9%
32Leominster, MA23,563+0.2%
33Fitchburg, MA22,489+0.5%
34Braintree Town, MA22,290+1.1%
35Pittsfield, MA21,834+0.2%
36Watertown, MA21,627+1.1%
37Westfield, MA19,667-1.3%
38Chelsea, MA19,661+0.7%
39Franklin Town, MA19,373+1.8%
40Randolph Town, MA19,265+0.9%
41Amherst Town, MA18,4010%
42North Attleborough Town, MA17,905+1.3%
43Melrose, MA16,500+1.2%
44Holyoke, MA16,493-0.9%
45Gloucester, MA15,967+0.6%
46Northampton, MA15,942-0.9%
47West Springfield Town, MA15,325+0.5%
48Bridgewater Town, MA15,321+1.7%
49Agawam Town, MA15,132-0.6%
50Winthrop Town, MA10,411+0.8%
51Amesbury, MA9,921+0.9%
52Gardner, MA9,824+0.4%
53Newburyport, MA9,793+1%
54Southbridge Town, MA8,952+0.1%
55Easthampton, MA8,210-1.4%
56Greenfield, MA8,064-0.8%
57Palmer Town, MA6,486-0.9%
58North Adams, MA5,5460%

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, 2023) [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, 2023. 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=2023. 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, 2023. 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=2023.

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, 2023 [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=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_massachusetts_by_2023,
  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, 2023}},
  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=2023. 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, 2023
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=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/massachusetts-cities?period=2023.
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 394,455 in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest civilian labor force?

North Adams, MA, with 5,546 in 2023.

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