Data / Rankings / Unemployed people / Cities in Massachusetts

Cities in Massachusetts by unemployed people

Boston, MA had the highest unemployed people of 58 cities in 2017, at 13,226. Newburyport, MA had the lowest, at 312. The median was 984. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest13,226Boston, MA
Lowest312Newburyport, MA
Median98458 cities

All cities, 2017

Boston, MA: 13,226 personsBoston, MA13,226Springfield, MA: 4,554 personsSpringfield, MA4,554Worcester, MA: 4,179 personsWorcester, MA4,179New Bedford, MA: 3,223 personsNew Bedford, MA3,223Fall River, MA: 2,694 personsFall River, MA2,694Brockton, MA: 2,570 personsBrockton, MA2,570Lowell, MA: 2,520 personsLowell, MA2,520Lawrence, MA: 2,499 personsLawrence, MA2,499Lynn, MA: 1,954 personsLynn, MA1,954Quincy, MA: 1,919 personsQuincy, MA1,919Cambridge, MA: 1,706 personsCambridge, MA1,706Taunton, MA: 1,450 personsTaunton, MA1,450Haverhill, MA: 1,441 personsHaverhill, MA1,441Chicopee, MA: 1,420 personsChicopee, MA1,420Newton, MA: 1,385 personsNewton, MA1,385Somerville, MA: 1,345 personsSomerville, MA1,345Framingham, MA: 1,235 personsFramingham, MA1,235Weymouth Town, MA: 1,219 personsWeymouth Town, MA1,219Malden, MA: 1,208 personsMalden, MA1,208Methuen, MA: 1,179 personsMethuen, MA1,179Waltham, MA: 1,177 personsWaltham, MA1,177Revere, MA: 1,157 personsRevere, MA1,157Barnstable Town, MA: 1,115 personsBarnstable Town, MA1,115Medford, MA: 1,098 personsMedford, MA1,098Pittsfield, MA: 1,067 personsPittsfield, MA1,067Peabody, MA: 1,049 personsPeabody, MA1,049Attleboro, MA: 1,029 personsAttleboro, MA1,029Fitchburg, MA: 1,014 personsFitchburg, MA1,014Leominster, MA: 989 personsLeominster, MA989Holyoke, MA: 978 personsHolyoke, MA978Salem, MA: 970 personsSalem, MA970Westfield, MA: 957 personsWestfield, MA957Everett, MA: 888 personsEverett, MA888Randolph Town, MA: 817 personsRandolph Town, MA817Beverly, MA: 775 personsBeverly, MA775Marlborough, MA: 767 personsMarlborough, MA767Woburn, MA: 757 personsWoburn, MA757Chelsea, MA: 753 personsChelsea, MA753Gloucester, MA: 742 personsGloucester, MA742Braintree Town, MA: 721 personsBraintree Town, MA721West Springfield Town, MA: 659 personsWest Springfield Town, MA659Agawam Town, MA: 654 personsAgawam Town, MA654Amherst Town, MA: 637 personsAmherst Town, MA637North Attleborough Town, MA: 613 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA613Franklin Town, MA: 598 personsFranklin Town, MA598Watertown, MA: 596 personsWatertown, MA596Bridgewater Town, MA: 552 personsBridgewater Town, MA552Northampton, MA: 508 personsNorthampton, MA508Melrose, MA: 506 personsMelrose, MA506Gardner, MA: 463 personsGardner, MA463Southbridge Town, MA: 438 personsSouthbridge Town, MA438Winthrop Town, MA: 401 personsWinthrop Town, MA401Easthampton, MA: 343 personsEasthampton, MA343North Adams, MA: 338 personsNorth Adams, MA338Palmer Town, MA: 334 personsPalmer Town, MA334Greenfield, MA: 331 personsGreenfield, MA331Amesbury, MA: 319 personsAmesbury, MA319Newburyport, MA: 312 personsNewburyport, MA312Boston, MA: 13,226 personsBoston, MA13,226Springfield, MA: 4,554 personsSpringfield, MA4,554Worcester, MA: 4,179 personsWorcester, MA4,179New Bedford, MA: 3,223 personsNew Bedford, MA3,223Fall River, MA: 2,694 personsFall River, MA2,694Brockton, MA: 2,570 personsBrockton, MA2,570Lowell, MA: 2,520 personsLowell, MA2,520Lawrence, MA: 2,499 personsLawrence, MA2,499Lynn, MA: 1,954 personsLynn, MA1,954Quincy, MA: 1,919 personsQuincy, MA1,919Cambridge, MA: 1,706 personsCambridge, MA1,706Taunton, MA: 1,450 personsTaunton, MA1,450Haverhill, MA: 1,441 personsHaverhill, MA1,441Chicopee, MA: 1,420 personsChicopee, MA1,420Newton, MA: 1,385 personsNewton, MA1,385Somerville, MA: 1,345 personsSomerville, MA1,345Framingham, MA: 1,235 personsFramingham, MA1,235Weymouth Town, MA: 1,219 personsWeymouth Town, MA1,219Malden, MA: 1,208 personsMalden, MA1,208Methuen, MA: 1,179 personsMethuen, MA1,179Waltham, MA: 1,177 personsWaltham, MA1,177Revere, MA: 1,157 personsRevere, MA1,157Barnstable Town, MA: 1,115 personsBarnstable Town, MA1,115Medford, MA: 1,098 personsMedford, MA1,098Pittsfield, MA: 1,067 personsPittsfield, MA1,067Peabody, MA: 1,049 personsPeabody, MA1,049Attleboro, MA: 1,029 personsAttleboro, MA1,029Fitchburg, MA: 1,014 personsFitchburg, MA1,014Leominster, MA: 989 personsLeominster, MA989Holyoke, MA: 978 personsHolyoke, MA978Salem, MA: 970 personsSalem, MA970Westfield, MA: 957 personsWestfield, MA957Everett, MA: 888 personsEverett, MA888Randolph Town, MA: 817 personsRandolph Town, MA817Beverly, MA: 775 personsBeverly, MA775Marlborough, MA: 767 personsMarlborough, MA767Woburn, MA: 757 personsWoburn, MA757Chelsea, MA: 753 personsChelsea, MA753Gloucester, MA: 742 personsGloucester, MA742Braintree Town, MA: 721 personsBraintree Town, MA721West Springfield Town, MA: 659 personsWest Springfield Town, MA659Agawam Town, MA: 654 personsAgawam Town, MA654Amherst Town, MA: 637 personsAmherst Town, MA637North Attleborough Town, MA: 613 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA613Franklin Town, MA: 598 personsFranklin Town, MA598Watertown, MA: 596 personsWatertown, MA596Bridgewater Town, MA: 552 personsBridgewater Town, MA552Northampton, MA: 508 personsNorthampton, MA508Melrose, MA: 506 personsMelrose, MA506Gardner, MA: 463 personsGardner, MA463Southbridge Town, MA: 438 personsSouthbridge Town, MA438Winthrop Town, MA: 401 personsWinthrop Town, MA401Easthampton, MA: 343 personsEasthampton, MA343North Adams, MA: 338 personsNorth Adams, MA338Palmer Town, MA: 334 personsPalmer Town, MA334Greenfield, MA: 331 personsGreenfield, MA331Amesbury, MA: 319 personsAmesbury, MA319Newburyport, MA: 312 personsNewburyport, MA312
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2017
persons		Change on 2016
1Boston, MA13,226-2.4%
2Springfield, MA4,554+0.5%
3Worcester, MA4,179-3.6%
4New Bedford, MA3,223-2.2%
5Fall River, MA2,694-3.2%
6Brockton, MA2,570-1.1%
7Lowell, MA2,520-5.8%
8Lawrence, MA2,499-3.7%
9Lynn, MA1,954-7.3%
10Quincy, MA1,919-5%
11Cambridge, MA1,706+0.2%
12Taunton, MA1,450-0.9%
13Haverhill, MA1,441-3%
14Chicopee, MA1,420-3.5%
15Newton, MA1,385-5.4%
16Somerville, MA1,345-1%
17Framingham, MA1,235+2%
18Weymouth Town, MA1,219-3.3%
19Malden, MA1,208-4.1%
20Methuen, MA1,179-2.2%
21Waltham, MA1,177-1.4%
22Revere, MA1,157-3.3%
23Barnstable Town, MA1,115-4.1%
24Medford, MA1,098-1.5%
25Pittsfield, MA1,067+0.4%
26Peabody, MA1,049-6.3%
27Attleboro, MA1,029-0.8%
28Fitchburg, MA1,014-0.7%
29Leominster, MA989-2.5%
30Holyoke, MA978-2.3%
31Salem, MA970-2%
32Westfield, MA957-5.2%
33Everett, MA888-5.9%
34Randolph Town, MA817+5.3%
35Beverly, MA775-4.8%
36Marlborough, MA767-7.5%
37Woburn, MA757-4.4%
38Chelsea, MA753-0.7%
39Gloucester, MA742-3.8%
40Braintree Town, MA721-6%
41West Springfield Town, MA659-3.5%
42Agawam Town, MA654-6.3%
43Amherst Town, MA637-11.2%
44North Attleborough Town, MA613-0.6%
45Franklin Town, MA598-2.3%
46Watertown, MA596+2.4%
47Bridgewater Town, MA552-7.2%
48Northampton, MA508-1.6%
49Melrose, MA506+2.6%
50Gardner, MA463-10.4%
51Southbridge Town, MA438-7.4%
52Winthrop Town, MA401+1.8%
53Easthampton, MA343-0.6%
54North Adams, MA338-9.9%
55Palmer Town, MA334+0.9%
56Greenfield, MA331-3.2%
57Amesbury, MA319-6.5%
58Newburyport, MA312-3.7%

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, 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: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Cities in Massachusetts by unemployed people, 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/unemployed-people/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: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Cities in Massachusetts by unemployed people, 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/unemployed-people/massachusetts-cities?period=2017.

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, 2017 [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=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: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Cities in Massachusetts by unemployed people, 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/unemployed-people/massachusetts-cities?period=2017. 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, 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/unemployed-people/massachusetts-cities?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/massachusetts-cities?period=2017.
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 13,226 in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest unemployed people?

Newburyport, MA, with 312 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: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Unemployed people: other rankings

Cities in Massachusetts: more rankings