Data / Rankings / Employed residents / Cities in Massachusetts

Cities in Massachusetts by employed residents

Boston, MA had the highest employed residents of 58 cities in 2017, at 374,992. North Adams, MA had the lowest, at 5,721. The median was 22,712. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest374,992Boston, MA
Lowest5,721North Adams, MA
Median22,71258 cities

All cities, 2017

Boston, MA: 374,992 personsBoston, MA374,992Worcester, MA: 100,305 personsWorcester, MA100,305Cambridge, MA: 67,367 personsCambridge, MA67,367Springfield, MA: 63,436 personsSpringfield, MA63,436Lowell, MA: 58,057 personsLowell, MA58,057Quincy, MA: 55,762 personsQuincy, MA55,762Somerville, MA: 54,945 personsSomerville, MA54,945Brockton, MA: 49,197 personsBrockton, MA49,197Lynn, MA: 49,014 personsLynn, MA49,014Newton, MA: 45,515 personsNewton, MA45,515New Bedford, MA: 44,499 personsNew Bedford, MA44,499Fall River, MA: 42,103 personsFall River, MA42,103Lawrence, MA: 41,087 personsLawrence, MA41,087Waltham, MA: 37,680 personsWaltham, MA37,680Malden, MA: 37,039 personsMalden, MA37,039Framingham, MA: 36,745 personsFramingham, MA36,745Haverhill, MA: 34,664 personsHaverhill, MA34,664Medford, MA: 33,505 personsMedford, MA33,505Revere, MA: 33,040 personsRevere, MA33,040Weymouth Town, MA: 30,220 personsWeymouth Town, MA30,220Taunton, MA: 29,595 personsTaunton, MA29,595Peabody, MA: 27,162 personsPeabody, MA27,162Methuen, MA: 26,835 personsMethuen, MA26,835Chicopee, MA: 26,280 personsChicopee, MA26,280Everett, MA: 26,234 personsEverett, MA26,234Barnstable Town, MA: 25,518 personsBarnstable Town, MA25,518Salem, MA: 24,993 personsSalem, MA24,993Attleboro, MA: 24,103 personsAttleboro, MA24,103Marlborough, MA: 22,738 personsMarlborough, MA22,738Woburn, MA: 22,685 personsWoburn, MA22,685Pittsfield, MA: 22,407 personsPittsfield, MA22,407Beverly, MA: 22,404 personsBeverly, MA22,404Leominster, MA: 22,148 personsLeominster, MA22,148Fitchburg, MA: 21,308 personsFitchburg, MA21,308Braintree Town, MA: 21,094 personsBraintree Town, MA21,094Watertown, MA: 20,290 personsWatertown, MA20,290Chelsea, MA: 19,351 personsChelsea, MA19,351Westfield, MA: 19,036 personsWestfield, MA19,036Randolph Town, MA: 17,984 personsRandolph Town, MA17,984Franklin Town, MA: 17,240 personsFranklin Town, MA17,240North Attleborough Town, MA: 16,850 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA16,850Amherst Town, MA: 16,735 personsAmherst Town, MA16,735Melrose, MA: 16,051 personsMelrose, MA16,051Holyoke, MA: 15,791 personsHolyoke, MA15,791Northampton, MA: 14,993 personsNorthampton, MA14,993Gloucester, MA: 14,644 personsGloucester, MA14,644Agawam Town, MA: 14,599 personsAgawam Town, MA14,599West Springfield Town, MA: 14,592 personsWest Springfield Town, MA14,592Bridgewater Town, MA: 13,828 personsBridgewater Town, MA13,828Winthrop Town, MA: 10,234 personsWinthrop Town, MA10,234Amesbury, MA: 9,367 personsAmesbury, MA9,367Gardner, MA: 9,303 personsGardner, MA9,303Newburyport, MA: 8,864 personsNewburyport, MA8,864Easthampton, MA: 8,321 personsEasthampton, MA8,321Southbridge Town, MA: 8,295 personsSouthbridge Town, MA8,295Greenfield, MA: 8,035 personsGreenfield, MA8,035Palmer Town, MA: 6,199 personsPalmer Town, MA6,199North Adams, MA: 5,721 personsNorth Adams, MA5,721Boston, MA: 374,992 personsBoston, MA374,992Worcester, MA: 100,305 personsWorcester, MA100,305Cambridge, MA: 67,367 personsCambridge, MA67,367Springfield, MA: 63,436 personsSpringfield, MA63,436Lowell, MA: 58,057 personsLowell, MA58,057Quincy, MA: 55,762 personsQuincy, MA55,762Somerville, MA: 54,945 personsSomerville, MA54,945Brockton, MA: 49,197 personsBrockton, MA49,197Lynn, MA: 49,014 personsLynn, MA49,014Newton, MA: 45,515 personsNewton, MA45,515New Bedford, MA: 44,499 personsNew Bedford, MA44,499Fall River, MA: 42,103 personsFall River, MA42,103Lawrence, MA: 41,087 personsLawrence, MA41,087Waltham, MA: 37,680 personsWaltham, MA37,680Malden, MA: 37,039 personsMalden, MA37,039Framingham, MA: 36,745 personsFramingham, MA36,745Haverhill, MA: 34,664 personsHaverhill, MA34,664Medford, MA: 33,505 personsMedford, MA33,505Revere, MA: 33,040 personsRevere, MA33,040Weymouth Town, MA: 30,220 personsWeymouth Town, MA30,220Taunton, MA: 29,595 personsTaunton, MA29,595Peabody, MA: 27,162 personsPeabody, MA27,162Methuen, MA: 26,835 personsMethuen, MA26,835Chicopee, MA: 26,280 personsChicopee, MA26,280Everett, MA: 26,234 personsEverett, MA26,234Barnstable Town, MA: 25,518 personsBarnstable Town, MA25,518Salem, MA: 24,993 personsSalem, MA24,993Attleboro, MA: 24,103 personsAttleboro, MA24,103Marlborough, MA: 22,738 personsMarlborough, MA22,738Woburn, MA: 22,685 personsWoburn, MA22,685Pittsfield, MA: 22,407 personsPittsfield, MA22,407Beverly, MA: 22,404 personsBeverly, MA22,404Leominster, MA: 22,148 personsLeominster, MA22,148Fitchburg, MA: 21,308 personsFitchburg, MA21,308Braintree Town, MA: 21,094 personsBraintree Town, MA21,094Watertown, MA: 20,290 personsWatertown, MA20,290Chelsea, MA: 19,351 personsChelsea, MA19,351Westfield, MA: 19,036 personsWestfield, MA19,036Randolph Town, MA: 17,984 personsRandolph Town, MA17,984Franklin Town, MA: 17,240 personsFranklin Town, MA17,240North Attleborough Town, MA: 16,850 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA16,850Amherst Town, MA: 16,735 personsAmherst Town, MA16,735Melrose, MA: 16,051 personsMelrose, MA16,051Holyoke, MA: 15,791 personsHolyoke, MA15,791Northampton, MA: 14,993 personsNorthampton, MA14,993Gloucester, MA: 14,644 personsGloucester, MA14,644Agawam Town, MA: 14,599 personsAgawam Town, MA14,599West Springfield Town, MA: 14,592 personsWest Springfield Town, MA14,592Bridgewater Town, MA: 13,828 personsBridgewater Town, MA13,828Winthrop Town, MA: 10,234 personsWinthrop Town, MA10,234Amesbury, MA: 9,367 personsAmesbury, MA9,367Gardner, MA: 9,303 personsGardner, MA9,303Newburyport, MA: 8,864 personsNewburyport, MA8,864Easthampton, MA: 8,321 personsEasthampton, MA8,321Southbridge Town, MA: 8,295 personsSouthbridge Town, MA8,295Greenfield, MA: 8,035 personsGreenfield, MA8,035Palmer Town, MA: 6,199 personsPalmer Town, MA6,199North Adams, MA: 5,721 personsNorth Adams, MA5,721
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2017
persons		Change on 2016
1Boston, MA374,992+2.6%
2Worcester, MA100,305+1.9%
3Cambridge, MA67,367+2.8%
4Springfield, MA63,436+1.9%
5Lowell, MA58,057+2.2%
6Quincy, MA55,762+1.9%
7Somerville, MA54,945+2.1%
8Brockton, MA49,197+1.8%
9Lynn, MA49,014+2.6%
10Newton, MA45,515+2%
11New Bedford, MA44,499+1.6%
12Fall River, MA42,103+1.6%
13Lawrence, MA41,087+2.1%
14Waltham, MA37,680+1.5%
15Malden, MA37,039+1.4%
16Framingham, MA36,745+2.2%
17Haverhill, MA34,664+2.6%
18Medford, MA33,505+1.7%
19Revere, MA33,040+1.5%
20Weymouth Town, MA30,220+3.1%
21Taunton, MA29,595+1.7%
22Peabody, MA27,162+2.2%
23Methuen, MA26,835+2.6%
24Chicopee, MA26,280+1.7%
25Everett, MA26,234+2.1%
26Barnstable Town, MA25,518+2%
27Salem, MA24,993+2%
28Attleboro, MA24,103+2.4%
29Marlborough, MA22,738+1.8%
30Woburn, MA22,685+1.8%
31Pittsfield, MA22,407+0.7%
32Beverly, MA22,404+2.6%
33Leominster, MA22,148+2.1%
34Fitchburg, MA21,308+1.8%
35Braintree Town, MA21,094+1.9%
36Watertown, MA20,290+3.5%
37Chelsea, MA19,351+1.4%
38Westfield, MA19,036+1.4%
39Randolph Town, MA17,984+3.7%
40Franklin Town, MA17,240+2.3%
41North Attleborough Town, MA16,850+1.7%
42Amherst Town, MA16,735+0.2%
43Melrose, MA16,051+2.2%
44Holyoke, MA15,791+1.6%
45Northampton, MA14,993+2.3%
46Gloucester, MA14,644+2.5%
47Agawam Town, MA14,599+1.7%
48West Springfield Town, MA14,592+1.7%
49Bridgewater Town, MA13,828+0.7%
50Winthrop Town, MA10,234+2%
51Amesbury, MA9,367+2.7%
52Gardner, MA9,303+2.1%
53Newburyport, MA8,864+2.7%
54Easthampton, MA8,321+2%
55Southbridge Town, MA8,295+1.8%
56Greenfield, MA8,035+1.6%
57Palmer Town, MA6,199+1.8%
58North Adams, MA5,721+0.5%

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, 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: employment (measure 05), annual average, Cities in Massachusetts by employed residents, 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/employed-residents/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: employment (measure 05), annual average. Cities in Massachusetts by employed residents, 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/employed-residents/massachusetts-cities?period=2017.

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, 2017 [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=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: employment (measure 05), annual average: Cities in Massachusetts by employed residents, 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/employed-residents/massachusetts-cities?period=2017. 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, 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/employed-residents/massachusetts-cities?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/massachusetts-cities?period=2017.
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  -
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Rank Cities in Massachusetts by employed residents using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which city has the highest employed residents?

Boston, MA, with 374,992 in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest employed residents?

North Adams, MA, with 5,721 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: employment (measure 05), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Employed residents: other rankings

Cities in Massachusetts: more rankings