Data / Rankings / Employed residents / Cities in Massachusetts

Cities in Massachusetts by employed residents

Boston, MA had the highest employed residents of 58 cities in 2016, at 365,456. North Adams, MA had the lowest, at 5,695. The median was 22,311. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest365,456Boston, MA
Lowest5,695North Adams, MA
Median22,31158 cities

All cities, 2016

Boston, MA: 365,456 personsBoston, MA365,456Worcester, MA: 98,465 personsWorcester, MA98,465Cambridge, MA: 65,541 personsCambridge, MA65,541Springfield, MA: 62,283 personsSpringfield, MA62,283Lowell, MA: 56,816 personsLowell, MA56,816Quincy, MA: 54,729 personsQuincy, MA54,729Somerville, MA: 53,828 personsSomerville, MA53,828Brockton, MA: 48,329 personsBrockton, MA48,329Lynn, MA: 47,761 personsLynn, MA47,761Newton, MA: 44,643 personsNewton, MA44,643New Bedford, MA: 43,819 personsNew Bedford, MA43,819Fall River, MA: 41,432 personsFall River, MA41,432Lawrence, MA: 40,245 personsLawrence, MA40,245Waltham, MA: 37,115 personsWaltham, MA37,115Malden, MA: 36,511 personsMalden, MA36,511Framingham, MA: 35,950 personsFramingham, MA35,950Haverhill, MA: 33,788 personsHaverhill, MA33,788Medford, MA: 32,961 personsMedford, MA32,961Revere, MA: 32,537 personsRevere, MA32,537Weymouth Town, MA: 29,308 personsWeymouth Town, MA29,308Taunton, MA: 29,105 personsTaunton, MA29,105Peabody, MA: 26,567 personsPeabody, MA26,567Methuen, MA: 26,159 personsMethuen, MA26,159Chicopee, MA: 25,832 personsChicopee, MA25,832Everett, MA: 25,683 personsEverett, MA25,683Barnstable Town, MA: 25,013 personsBarnstable Town, MA25,013Salem, MA: 24,494 personsSalem, MA24,494Attleboro, MA: 23,535 personsAttleboro, MA23,535Marlborough, MA: 22,345 personsMarlborough, MA22,345Woburn, MA: 22,276 personsWoburn, MA22,276Pittsfield, MA: 22,248 personsPittsfield, MA22,248Beverly, MA: 21,826 personsBeverly, MA21,826Leominster, MA: 21,693 personsLeominster, MA21,693Fitchburg, MA: 20,924 personsFitchburg, MA20,924Braintree Town, MA: 20,710 personsBraintree Town, MA20,710Watertown, MA: 19,600 personsWatertown, MA19,600Chelsea, MA: 19,083 personsChelsea, MA19,083Westfield, MA: 18,781 personsWestfield, MA18,781Randolph Town, MA: 17,341 personsRandolph Town, MA17,341Franklin Town, MA: 16,852 personsFranklin Town, MA16,852Amherst Town, MA: 16,707 personsAmherst Town, MA16,707North Attleborough Town, MA: 16,564 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA16,564Melrose, MA: 15,712 personsMelrose, MA15,712Holyoke, MA: 15,536 personsHolyoke, MA15,536Northampton, MA: 14,652 personsNorthampton, MA14,652Agawam Town, MA: 14,353 personsAgawam Town, MA14,353West Springfield Town, MA: 14,351 personsWest Springfield Town, MA14,351Gloucester, MA: 14,285 personsGloucester, MA14,285Bridgewater Town, MA: 13,736 personsBridgewater Town, MA13,736Winthrop Town, MA: 10,031 personsWinthrop Town, MA10,031Amesbury, MA: 9,123 personsAmesbury, MA9,123Gardner, MA: 9,113 personsGardner, MA9,113Newburyport, MA: 8,633 personsNewburyport, MA8,633Easthampton, MA: 8,157 personsEasthampton, MA8,157Southbridge Town, MA: 8,147 personsSouthbridge Town, MA8,147Greenfield, MA: 7,910 personsGreenfield, MA7,910Palmer Town, MA: 6,091 personsPalmer Town, MA6,091North Adams, MA: 5,695 personsNorth Adams, MA5,695Boston, MA: 365,456 personsBoston, MA365,456Worcester, MA: 98,465 personsWorcester, MA98,465Cambridge, MA: 65,541 personsCambridge, MA65,541Springfield, MA: 62,283 personsSpringfield, MA62,283Lowell, MA: 56,816 personsLowell, MA56,816Quincy, MA: 54,729 personsQuincy, MA54,729Somerville, MA: 53,828 personsSomerville, MA53,828Brockton, MA: 48,329 personsBrockton, MA48,329Lynn, MA: 47,761 personsLynn, MA47,761Newton, MA: 44,643 personsNewton, MA44,643New Bedford, MA: 43,819 personsNew Bedford, MA43,819Fall River, MA: 41,432 personsFall River, MA41,432Lawrence, MA: 40,245 personsLawrence, MA40,245Waltham, MA: 37,115 personsWaltham, MA37,115Malden, MA: 36,511 personsMalden, MA36,511Framingham, MA: 35,950 personsFramingham, MA35,950Haverhill, MA: 33,788 personsHaverhill, MA33,788Medford, MA: 32,961 personsMedford, MA32,961Revere, MA: 32,537 personsRevere, MA32,537Weymouth Town, MA: 29,308 personsWeymouth Town, MA29,308Taunton, MA: 29,105 personsTaunton, MA29,105Peabody, MA: 26,567 personsPeabody, MA26,567Methuen, MA: 26,159 personsMethuen, MA26,159Chicopee, MA: 25,832 personsChicopee, MA25,832Everett, MA: 25,683 personsEverett, MA25,683Barnstable Town, MA: 25,013 personsBarnstable Town, MA25,013Salem, MA: 24,494 personsSalem, MA24,494Attleboro, MA: 23,535 personsAttleboro, MA23,535Marlborough, MA: 22,345 personsMarlborough, MA22,345Woburn, MA: 22,276 personsWoburn, MA22,276Pittsfield, MA: 22,248 personsPittsfield, MA22,248Beverly, MA: 21,826 personsBeverly, MA21,826Leominster, MA: 21,693 personsLeominster, MA21,693Fitchburg, MA: 20,924 personsFitchburg, MA20,924Braintree Town, MA: 20,710 personsBraintree Town, MA20,710Watertown, MA: 19,600 personsWatertown, MA19,600Chelsea, MA: 19,083 personsChelsea, MA19,083Westfield, MA: 18,781 personsWestfield, MA18,781Randolph Town, MA: 17,341 personsRandolph Town, MA17,341Franklin Town, MA: 16,852 personsFranklin Town, MA16,852Amherst Town, MA: 16,707 personsAmherst Town, MA16,707North Attleborough Town, MA: 16,564 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA16,564Melrose, MA: 15,712 personsMelrose, MA15,712Holyoke, MA: 15,536 personsHolyoke, MA15,536Northampton, MA: 14,652 personsNorthampton, MA14,652Agawam Town, MA: 14,353 personsAgawam Town, MA14,353West Springfield Town, MA: 14,351 personsWest Springfield Town, MA14,351Gloucester, MA: 14,285 personsGloucester, MA14,285Bridgewater Town, MA: 13,736 personsBridgewater Town, MA13,736Winthrop Town, MA: 10,031 personsWinthrop Town, MA10,031Amesbury, MA: 9,123 personsAmesbury, MA9,123Gardner, MA: 9,113 personsGardner, MA9,113Newburyport, MA: 8,633 personsNewburyport, MA8,633Easthampton, MA: 8,157 personsEasthampton, MA8,157Southbridge Town, MA: 8,147 personsSouthbridge Town, MA8,147Greenfield, MA: 7,910 personsGreenfield, MA7,910Palmer Town, MA: 6,091 personsPalmer Town, MA6,091North Adams, MA: 5,695 personsNorth Adams, MA5,695
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2016
persons		Change on 2015
1Boston, MA365,456+4.3%
2Worcester, MA98,465+13.9%
3Cambridge, MA65,541+4.5%
4Springfield, MA62,283+6.7%
5Lowell, MA56,816+10.8%
6Quincy, MA54,729+8.3%
7Somerville, MA53,828+9.9%
8Brockton, MA48,329+10%
9Lynn, MA47,761+7.7%
10Newton, MA44,643-0.8%
11New Bedford, MA43,819+1.2%
12Fall River, MA41,432+12.9%
13Lawrence, MA40,245+21.9%
14Waltham, MA37,115+3.6%
15Malden, MA36,511+14.5%
16Framingham, MA35,950-6.2%
17Haverhill, MA33,788+3.9%
18Medford, MA32,961+2.8%
19Revere, MA32,537+21.1%
20Weymouth Town, MA29,308+1.2%
21Taunton, MA29,105+3.9%
22Peabody, MA26,567-3.5%
23Methuen, MA26,159+3.1%
24Chicopee, MA25,832-2.1%
25Everett, MA25,683+4.4%
26Barnstable Town, MA25,013+11.4%
27Salem, MA24,494+8.2%
28Attleboro, MA23,535+1.2%
29Marlborough, MA22,345-0.8%
30Woburn, MA22,276+2.6%
31Pittsfield, MA22,248+8.4%
32Beverly, MA21,826-0.3%
33Leominster, MA21,693+4%
34Fitchburg, MA20,924+15.5%
35Braintree Town, MA20,710+6.1%
36Watertown, MA19,600-5.3%
37Chelsea, MA19,083+1.6%
38Westfield, MA18,781-6.5%
39Randolph Town, MA17,341+4.2%
40Franklin Town, MA16,852-1%
41Amherst Town, MA16,707-7.2%
42North Attleborough Town, MA16,564+7.1%
43Melrose, MA15,712+1.6%
44Holyoke, MA15,536+2%
45Northampton, MA14,652-5.8%
46Agawam Town, MA14,353-5.8%
47West Springfield Town, MA14,351+3.3%
48Gloucester, MA14,285-2.1%
49Bridgewater Town, MA13,736-2.1%
50Winthrop Town, MA10,031+1.7%
51Amesbury, MA9,123-6.9%
52Gardner, MA9,113+1.9%
53Newburyport, MA8,633-8.7%
54Easthampton, MA8,157-11%
55Southbridge Town, MA8,147+8.6%
56Greenfield, MA7,910-13%
57Palmer Town, MA6,091+4.4%
58North Adams, MA5,695-0.1%

Other periods

About this ranking

Residents who did any work for pay or profit in the reference week, or were temporarily absent from a job, 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, whatever the place of work, and someone with two jobs counts once. 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: employment (measure 05), 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: employment (measure 05), annual average (Cities in Massachusetts by employed residents, 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: employment (measure 05), annual average, Cities in Massachusetts by employed residents, 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/employed-residents/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: employment (measure 05), annual average. Cities in Massachusetts by employed residents, 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/employed-residents/massachusetts-cities?period=2016.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average, Cities in Massachusetts by employed residents, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/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: employment (measure 05), annual average: Cities in Massachusetts by employed residents, 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/employed-residents/massachusetts-cities?period=2016. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), 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: employment (measure 05), annual average: Cities in Massachusetts by employed residents, 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/employed-residents/massachusetts-cities?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/massachusetts-cities?period=2016.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), 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 employed residents using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"employed_residents","level":"municipality","within":"Massachusetts","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=employed_residents&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 employed residents?

Boston, MA, with 365,456 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest employed residents?

North Adams, MA, with 5,695 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: employment (measure 05), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Employed residents: other rankings

Cities in Massachusetts: more rankings