Data / Rankings / Employed residents / Cities in Massachusetts

Cities in Massachusetts by employed residents

Boston, MA had the highest employed residents of 58 cities in 2021, at 362,150. North Adams, MA had the lowest, at 5,112. The median was 22,426. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest362,150Boston, MA
Lowest5,112North Adams, MA
Median22,42658 cities

All cities, 2021

Boston, MA: 362,150 personsBoston, MA362,150Worcester, MA: 98,969 personsWorcester, MA98,969Cambridge, MA: 67,481 personsCambridge, MA67,481Springfield, MA: 62,854 personsSpringfield, MA62,854Lowell, MA: 58,400 personsLowell, MA58,400Quincy, MA: 55,405 personsQuincy, MA55,405Somerville, MA: 53,893 personsSomerville, MA53,893Lynn, MA: 48,852 personsLynn, MA48,852Brockton, MA: 48,790 personsBrockton, MA48,790Newton, MA: 44,277 personsNewton, MA44,277New Bedford, MA: 43,433 personsNew Bedford, MA43,433Fall River, MA: 41,115 personsFall River, MA41,115Lawrence, MA: 40,564 personsLawrence, MA40,564Framingham, MA: 37,303 personsFramingham, MA37,303Waltham, MA: 36,659 personsWaltham, MA36,659Malden, MA: 35,691 personsMalden, MA35,691Haverhill, MA: 34,510 personsHaverhill, MA34,510Medford, MA: 34,069 personsMedford, MA34,069Weymouth Town, MA: 30,947 personsWeymouth Town, MA30,947Revere, MA: 30,470 personsRevere, MA30,470Taunton, MA: 29,283 personsTaunton, MA29,283Peabody, MA: 26,938 personsPeabody, MA26,938Methuen, MA: 26,936 personsMethuen, MA26,936Chicopee, MA: 26,049 personsChicopee, MA26,049Everett, MA: 25,892 personsEverett, MA25,892Salem, MA: 25,064 personsSalem, MA25,064Barnstable Town, MA: 24,655 personsBarnstable Town, MA24,655Attleboro, MA: 23,868 personsAttleboro, MA23,868Woburn, MA: 22,544 personsWoburn, MA22,544Beverly, MA: 22,307 personsBeverly, MA22,307Marlborough, MA: 22,035 personsMarlborough, MA22,035Leominster, MA: 21,977 personsLeominster, MA21,977Fitchburg, MA: 20,839 personsFitchburg, MA20,839Braintree Town, MA: 20,761 personsBraintree Town, MA20,761Watertown, MA: 20,323 personsWatertown, MA20,323Pittsfield, MA: 20,318 personsPittsfield, MA20,318Westfield, MA: 18,869 personsWestfield, MA18,869Chelsea, MA: 18,175 personsChelsea, MA18,175Franklin Town, MA: 17,853 personsFranklin Town, MA17,853Randolph Town, MA: 17,771 personsRandolph Town, MA17,771Amherst Town, MA: 17,043 personsAmherst Town, MA17,043North Attleborough Town, MA: 16,633 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA16,633Holyoke, MA: 15,553 personsHolyoke, MA15,553Melrose, MA: 15,504 personsMelrose, MA15,504Northampton, MA: 15,204 personsNorthampton, MA15,204Gloucester, MA: 14,876 personsGloucester, MA14,876West Springfield Town, MA: 14,503 personsWest Springfield Town, MA14,503Agawam Town, MA: 14,462 personsAgawam Town, MA14,462Bridgewater Town, MA: 13,980 personsBridgewater Town, MA13,980Winthrop Town, MA: 9,664 personsWinthrop Town, MA9,664Amesbury, MA: 9,333 personsAmesbury, MA9,333Gardner, MA: 9,128 personsGardner, MA9,128Newburyport, MA: 9,016 personsNewburyport, MA9,016Southbridge Town, MA: 8,253 personsSouthbridge Town, MA8,253Easthampton, MA: 7,818 personsEasthampton, MA7,818Greenfield, MA: 7,659 personsGreenfield, MA7,659Palmer Town, MA: 6,164 personsPalmer Town, MA6,164North Adams, MA: 5,112 personsNorth Adams, MA5,112Boston, MA: 362,150 personsBoston, MA362,150Worcester, MA: 98,969 personsWorcester, MA98,969Cambridge, MA: 67,481 personsCambridge, MA67,481Springfield, MA: 62,854 personsSpringfield, MA62,854Lowell, MA: 58,400 personsLowell, MA58,400Quincy, MA: 55,405 personsQuincy, MA55,405Somerville, MA: 53,893 personsSomerville, MA53,893Lynn, MA: 48,852 personsLynn, MA48,852Brockton, MA: 48,790 personsBrockton, MA48,790Newton, MA: 44,277 personsNewton, MA44,277New Bedford, MA: 43,433 personsNew Bedford, MA43,433Fall River, MA: 41,115 personsFall River, MA41,115Lawrence, MA: 40,564 personsLawrence, MA40,564Framingham, MA: 37,303 personsFramingham, MA37,303Waltham, MA: 36,659 personsWaltham, MA36,659Malden, MA: 35,691 personsMalden, MA35,691Haverhill, MA: 34,510 personsHaverhill, MA34,510Medford, MA: 34,069 personsMedford, MA34,069Weymouth Town, MA: 30,947 personsWeymouth Town, MA30,947Revere, MA: 30,470 personsRevere, MA30,470Taunton, MA: 29,283 personsTaunton, MA29,283Peabody, MA: 26,938 personsPeabody, MA26,938Methuen, MA: 26,936 personsMethuen, MA26,936Chicopee, MA: 26,049 personsChicopee, MA26,049Everett, MA: 25,892 personsEverett, MA25,892Salem, MA: 25,064 personsSalem, MA25,064Barnstable Town, MA: 24,655 personsBarnstable Town, MA24,655Attleboro, MA: 23,868 personsAttleboro, MA23,868Woburn, MA: 22,544 personsWoburn, MA22,544Beverly, MA: 22,307 personsBeverly, MA22,307Marlborough, MA: 22,035 personsMarlborough, MA22,035Leominster, MA: 21,977 personsLeominster, MA21,977Fitchburg, MA: 20,839 personsFitchburg, MA20,839Braintree Town, MA: 20,761 personsBraintree Town, MA20,761Watertown, MA: 20,323 personsWatertown, MA20,323Pittsfield, MA: 20,318 personsPittsfield, MA20,318Westfield, MA: 18,869 personsWestfield, MA18,869Chelsea, MA: 18,175 personsChelsea, MA18,175Franklin Town, MA: 17,853 personsFranklin Town, MA17,853Randolph Town, MA: 17,771 personsRandolph Town, MA17,771Amherst Town, MA: 17,043 personsAmherst Town, MA17,043North Attleborough Town, MA: 16,633 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA16,633Holyoke, MA: 15,553 personsHolyoke, MA15,553Melrose, MA: 15,504 personsMelrose, MA15,504Northampton, MA: 15,204 personsNorthampton, MA15,204Gloucester, MA: 14,876 personsGloucester, MA14,876West Springfield Town, MA: 14,503 personsWest Springfield Town, MA14,503Agawam Town, MA: 14,462 personsAgawam Town, MA14,462Bridgewater Town, MA: 13,980 personsBridgewater Town, MA13,980Winthrop Town, MA: 9,664 personsWinthrop Town, MA9,664Amesbury, MA: 9,333 personsAmesbury, MA9,333Gardner, MA: 9,128 personsGardner, MA9,128Newburyport, MA: 9,016 personsNewburyport, MA9,016Southbridge Town, MA: 8,253 personsSouthbridge Town, MA8,253Easthampton, MA: 7,818 personsEasthampton, MA7,818Greenfield, MA: 7,659 personsGreenfield, MA7,659Palmer Town, MA: 6,164 personsPalmer Town, MA6,164North Adams, MA: 5,112 personsNorth Adams, MA5,112
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2021
persons		Change on 2020
1Boston, MA362,150+2.3%
2Worcester, MA98,969+5.7%
3Cambridge, MA67,481+3.4%
4Springfield, MA62,854+5.1%
5Lowell, MA58,400+6.2%
6Quincy, MA55,405+4.6%
7Somerville, MA53,893+3.5%
8Lynn, MA48,852+4.1%
9Brockton, MA48,790+4.9%
10Newton, MA44,277+3.4%
11New Bedford, MA43,433+4.5%
12Fall River, MA41,115+4.5%
13Lawrence, MA40,564+3.7%
14Framingham, MA37,303+3.8%
15Waltham, MA36,659+4.9%
16Malden, MA35,691+3.1%
17Haverhill, MA34,510+3.9%
18Medford, MA34,069+3.2%
19Weymouth Town, MA30,947+5.3%
20Revere, MA30,470+0.8%
21Taunton, MA29,283+5%
22Peabody, MA26,938+3.9%
23Methuen, MA26,936+4.1%
24Chicopee, MA26,049+4.9%
25Everett, MA25,892+3.8%
26Salem, MA25,064+6.5%
27Barnstable Town, MA24,655+6.7%
28Attleboro, MA23,868+4.9%
29Woburn, MA22,544+5.2%
30Beverly, MA22,307+3.8%
31Marlborough, MA22,035+3.2%
32Leominster, MA21,977+4%
33Fitchburg, MA20,839+4%
34Braintree Town, MA20,761+4.2%
35Watertown, MA20,323+4.1%
36Pittsfield, MA20,318+3.9%
37Westfield, MA18,869+6.3%
38Chelsea, MA18,175+2.5%
39Franklin Town, MA17,853+7.5%
40Randolph Town, MA17,771+4.3%
41Amherst Town, MA17,043+38.4%
42North Attleborough Town, MA16,633+4.9%
43Holyoke, MA15,553+4.1%
44Melrose, MA15,504+3.1%
45Northampton, MA15,204+2.7%
46Gloucester, MA14,876+5.1%
47West Springfield Town, MA14,503+4.9%
48Agawam Town, MA14,462+4.6%
49Bridgewater Town, MA13,980+12%
50Winthrop Town, MA9,664+1.5%
51Amesbury, MA9,333+4.1%
52Gardner, MA9,128+3.1%
53Newburyport, MA9,016+4.3%
54Southbridge Town, MA8,253+4.9%
55Easthampton, MA7,818-4.8%
56Greenfield, MA7,659+4.2%
57Palmer Town, MA6,164+4.9%
58North Adams, MA5,112+3.6%

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.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: employment (measure 05), annual average (Cities in Massachusetts by employed residents, 2021) [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: employment (measure 05), annual average, Cities in Massachusetts by employed residents, 2021. 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/employed-residents/massachusetts-cities?period=2021. 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, 2021. 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/employed-residents/massachusetts-cities?period=2021.

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, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/massachusetts-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_massachusetts_by_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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/employed-residents/massachusetts-cities?period=2021. 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.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: employment (measure 05), annual average: Cities in Massachusetts by employed residents, 2021
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/employed-residents/massachusetts-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/massachusetts-cities?period=2021.
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.CurrentU20-24. 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 362,150 in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest employed residents?

North Adams, MA, with 5,112 in 2021.

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