Data / Rankings / Unemployed people / Cities in Massachusetts

Cities in Massachusetts by unemployed people

Boston, MA had the highest unemployed people of 58 cities in 2015, at 15,963. Newburyport, MA had the lowest, at 393. The median was 1,211. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest15,963Boston, MA
Lowest393Newburyport, MA
Median1,21158 cities

All cities, 2015

Boston, MA: 15,963 personsBoston, MA15,963Springfield, MA: 5,425 personsSpringfield, MA5,425Worcester, MA: 5,138 personsWorcester, MA5,138New Bedford, MA: 3,970 personsNew Bedford, MA3,970Lawrence, MA: 3,320 personsLawrence, MA3,320Fall River, MA: 3,299 personsFall River, MA3,299Lowell, MA: 3,237 personsLowell, MA3,237Brockton, MA: 3,068 personsBrockton, MA3,068Lynn, MA: 2,473 personsLynn, MA2,473Quincy, MA: 2,416 personsQuincy, MA2,416Cambridge, MA: 1,985 personsCambridge, MA1,985Haverhill, MA: 1,763 personsHaverhill, MA1,763Chicopee, MA: 1,732 personsChicopee, MA1,732Newton, MA: 1,717 personsNewton, MA1,717Taunton, MA: 1,690 personsTaunton, MA1,690Somerville, MA: 1,665 personsSomerville, MA1,665Methuen, MA: 1,503 personsMethuen, MA1,503Weymouth Town, MA: 1,489 personsWeymouth Town, MA1,489Waltham, MA: 1,457 personsWaltham, MA1,457Malden, MA: 1,446 personsMalden, MA1,446Framingham, MA: 1,443 personsFramingham, MA1,443Barnstable Town, MA: 1,356 personsBarnstable Town, MA1,356Revere, MA: 1,336 personsRevere, MA1,336Medford, MA: 1,304 personsMedford, MA1,304Peabody, MA: 1,283 personsPeabody, MA1,283Leominster, MA: 1,258 personsLeominster, MA1,258Fitchburg, MA: 1,257 personsFitchburg, MA1,257Pittsfield, MA: 1,228 personsPittsfield, MA1,228Holyoke, MA: 1,223 personsHolyoke, MA1,223Westfield, MA: 1,198 personsWestfield, MA1,198Attleboro, MA: 1,189 personsAttleboro, MA1,189Salem, MA: 1,164 personsSalem, MA1,164Everett, MA: 1,110 personsEverett, MA1,110Randolph Town, MA: 983 personsRandolph Town, MA983Beverly, MA: 982 personsBeverly, MA982Chelsea, MA: 947 personsChelsea, MA947Gloucester, MA: 942 personsGloucester, MA942Marlborough, MA: 941 personsMarlborough, MA941Woburn, MA: 938 personsWoburn, MA938Braintree Town, MA: 883 personsBraintree Town, MA883Amherst Town, MA: 858 personsAmherst Town, MA858Agawam Town, MA: 804 personsAgawam Town, MA804North Attleborough Town, MA: 786 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA786West Springfield Town, MA: 785 personsWest Springfield Town, MA785Watertown, MA: 707 personsWatertown, MA707Franklin Town, MA: 701 personsFranklin Town, MA701Bridgewater Town, MA: 658 personsBridgewater Town, MA658Gardner, MA: 623 personsGardner, MA623Northampton, MA: 609 personsNorthampton, MA609Melrose, MA: 587 personsMelrose, MA587Southbridge Town, MA: 579 personsSouthbridge Town, MA579North Adams, MA: 459 personsNorth Adams, MA459Winthrop Town, MA: 458 personsWinthrop Town, MA458Easthampton, MA: 449 personsEasthampton, MA449Amesbury, MA: 435 personsAmesbury, MA435Greenfield, MA: 412 personsGreenfield, MA412Palmer Town, MA: 397 personsPalmer Town, MA397Newburyport, MA: 393 personsNewburyport, MA393Boston, MA: 15,963 personsBoston, MA15,963Springfield, MA: 5,425 personsSpringfield, MA5,425Worcester, MA: 5,138 personsWorcester, MA5,138New Bedford, MA: 3,970 personsNew Bedford, MA3,970Lawrence, MA: 3,320 personsLawrence, MA3,320Fall River, MA: 3,299 personsFall River, MA3,299Lowell, MA: 3,237 personsLowell, MA3,237Brockton, MA: 3,068 personsBrockton, MA3,068Lynn, MA: 2,473 personsLynn, MA2,473Quincy, MA: 2,416 personsQuincy, MA2,416Cambridge, MA: 1,985 personsCambridge, MA1,985Haverhill, MA: 1,763 personsHaverhill, MA1,763Chicopee, MA: 1,732 personsChicopee, MA1,732Newton, MA: 1,717 personsNewton, MA1,717Taunton, MA: 1,690 personsTaunton, MA1,690Somerville, MA: 1,665 personsSomerville, MA1,665Methuen, MA: 1,503 personsMethuen, MA1,503Weymouth Town, MA: 1,489 personsWeymouth Town, MA1,489Waltham, MA: 1,457 personsWaltham, MA1,457Malden, MA: 1,446 personsMalden, MA1,446Framingham, MA: 1,443 personsFramingham, MA1,443Barnstable Town, MA: 1,356 personsBarnstable Town, MA1,356Revere, MA: 1,336 personsRevere, MA1,336Medford, MA: 1,304 personsMedford, MA1,304Peabody, MA: 1,283 personsPeabody, MA1,283Leominster, MA: 1,258 personsLeominster, MA1,258Fitchburg, MA: 1,257 personsFitchburg, MA1,257Pittsfield, MA: 1,228 personsPittsfield, MA1,228Holyoke, MA: 1,223 personsHolyoke, MA1,223Westfield, MA: 1,198 personsWestfield, MA1,198Attleboro, MA: 1,189 personsAttleboro, MA1,189Salem, MA: 1,164 personsSalem, MA1,164Everett, MA: 1,110 personsEverett, MA1,110Randolph Town, MA: 983 personsRandolph Town, MA983Beverly, MA: 982 personsBeverly, MA982Chelsea, MA: 947 personsChelsea, MA947Gloucester, MA: 942 personsGloucester, MA942Marlborough, MA: 941 personsMarlborough, MA941Woburn, MA: 938 personsWoburn, MA938Braintree Town, MA: 883 personsBraintree Town, MA883Amherst Town, MA: 858 personsAmherst Town, MA858Agawam Town, MA: 804 personsAgawam Town, MA804North Attleborough Town, MA: 786 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA786West Springfield Town, MA: 785 personsWest Springfield Town, MA785Watertown, MA: 707 personsWatertown, MA707Franklin Town, MA: 701 personsFranklin Town, MA701Bridgewater Town, MA: 658 personsBridgewater Town, MA658Gardner, MA: 623 personsGardner, MA623Northampton, MA: 609 personsNorthampton, MA609Melrose, MA: 587 personsMelrose, MA587Southbridge Town, MA: 579 personsSouthbridge Town, MA579North Adams, MA: 459 personsNorth Adams, MA459Winthrop Town, MA: 458 personsWinthrop Town, MA458Easthampton, MA: 449 personsEasthampton, MA449Amesbury, MA: 435 personsAmesbury, MA435Greenfield, MA: 412 personsGreenfield, MA412Palmer Town, MA: 397 personsPalmer Town, MA397Newburyport, MA: 393 personsNewburyport, MA393
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2015
persons		Change on 2014
1Boston, MA15,963-15.2%
2Springfield, MA5,425-14.3%
3Worcester, MA5,138-17.1%
4New Bedford, MA3,970-17.2%
5Lawrence, MA3,320-15.5%
6Fall River, MA3,299-16.3%
7Lowell, MA3,237-14.1%
8Brockton, MA3,068-15.5%
9Lynn, MA2,473-18.1%
10Quincy, MA2,416-15.8%
11Cambridge, MA1,985-14.4%
12Haverhill, MA1,763-15.4%
13Chicopee, MA1,732-16.6%
14Newton, MA1,717-11.9%
15Taunton, MA1,690-19.3%
16Somerville, MA1,665-11.7%
17Methuen, MA1,503-15.6%
18Weymouth Town, MA1,489-14.8%
19Waltham, MA1,457-12.2%
20Malden, MA1,446-17.4%
21Framingham, MA1,443-14.4%
22Barnstable Town, MA1,356-10.7%
23Revere, MA1,336-17.8%
24Medford, MA1,304-18.7%
25Peabody, MA1,283-16.4%
26Leominster, MA1,258-17.3%
27Fitchburg, MA1,257-17.7%
28Pittsfield, MA1,228-18.1%
29Holyoke, MA1,223-16.7%
30Westfield, MA1,198-17.5%
31Attleboro, MA1,189-20%
32Salem, MA1,164-17%
33Everett, MA1,110-16.9%
34Randolph Town, MA983-14.4%
35Beverly, MA982-16.8%
36Chelsea, MA947-15.5%
37Gloucester, MA942-13.7%
38Marlborough, MA941-18.9%
39Woburn, MA938-19.5%
40Braintree Town, MA883-16.9%
41Amherst Town, MA858-12.3%
42Agawam Town, MA804-14.8%
43North Attleborough Town, MA786-10.9%
44West Springfield Town, MA785-17.1%
45Watertown, MA707-17.2%
46Franklin Town, MA701-17.5%
47Bridgewater Town, MA658-16.4%
48Gardner, MA623-12.1%
49Northampton, MA609-13.9%
50Melrose, MA587-15.3%
51Southbridge Town, MA579-13.1%
52North Adams, MA459-18.8%
53Winthrop Town, MA458-15.3%
54Easthampton, MA449-8.7%
55Amesbury, MA435-11.4%
56Greenfield, MA412-17.6%
57Palmer Town, MA397-20.4%
58Newburyport, MA393-14.6%

Other periods

About this ranking

Residents with no job who were available for work and had looked for work in the previous four weeks, or were waiting to be recalled from a layoff, 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. The survey definition, not a count of benefit claimants. 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: unemployment (measure 04), 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: unemployment (measure 04), annual average (Cities in Massachusetts by unemployed people, 2015) [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: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Cities in Massachusetts by unemployed people, 2015. 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/unemployed-people/massachusetts-cities?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Cities in Massachusetts by unemployed people, 2015. 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/unemployed-people/massachusetts-cities?period=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Cities in Massachusetts by unemployed people, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/massachusetts-cities?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_massachusetts_by_2015,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Cities in Massachusetts by unemployed people, 2015}},
  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/unemployed-people/massachusetts-cities?period=2015. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), 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: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Cities in Massachusetts by unemployed people, 2015
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/unemployed-people/massachusetts-cities?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/massachusetts-cities?period=2015.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), 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 unemployed people using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which city has the highest unemployed people?

Boston, MA, with 15,963 in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest unemployed people?

Newburyport, MA, with 393 in 2015.

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: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Unemployed people: other rankings

Cities in Massachusetts: more rankings