Data / Rankings / Unemployed people / Cities in Massachusetts

Cities in Massachusetts by unemployed people

Boston, MA had the highest unemployed people of 58 cities in 2018, at 12,135. Newburyport, MA had the lowest, at 279. The median was 922. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest12,135Boston, MA
Lowest279Newburyport, MA
Median92258 cities

All cities, 2018

Boston, MA: 12,135 personsBoston, MA12,135Springfield, MA: 4,282 personsSpringfield, MA4,282Worcester, MA: 3,936 personsWorcester, MA3,936New Bedford, MA: 2,965 personsNew Bedford, MA2,965Fall River, MA: 2,521 personsFall River, MA2,521Brockton, MA: 2,328 personsBrockton, MA2,328Lawrence, MA: 2,312 personsLawrence, MA2,312Lowell, MA: 2,273 personsLowell, MA2,273Lynn, MA: 1,885 personsLynn, MA1,885Quincy, MA: 1,827 personsQuincy, MA1,827Cambridge, MA: 1,541 personsCambridge, MA1,541Chicopee, MA: 1,338 personsChicopee, MA1,338Haverhill, MA: 1,326 personsHaverhill, MA1,326Taunton, MA: 1,301 personsTaunton, MA1,301Newton, MA: 1,238 personsNewton, MA1,238Somerville, MA: 1,207 personsSomerville, MA1,207Framingham, MA: 1,141 personsFramingham, MA1,141Weymouth Town, MA: 1,110 personsWeymouth Town, MA1,110Malden, MA: 1,104 personsMalden, MA1,104Waltham, MA: 1,099 personsWaltham, MA1,099Revere, MA: 1,090 personsRevere, MA1,090Methuen, MA: 1,052 personsMethuen, MA1,052Barnstable Town, MA: 1,047 personsBarnstable Town, MA1,047Pittsfield, MA: 986 personsPittsfield, MA986Medford, MA: 972 personsMedford, MA972Peabody, MA: 957 personsPeabody, MA957Fitchburg, MA: 952 personsFitchburg, MA952Holyoke, MA: 951 personsHolyoke, MA951Attleboro, MA: 938 personsAttleboro, MA938Leominster, MA: 905 personsLeominster, MA905Salem, MA: 897 personsSalem, MA897Westfield, MA: 881 personsWestfield, MA881Everett, MA: 795 personsEverett, MA795Randolph Town, MA: 745 personsRandolph Town, MA745Beverly, MA: 741 personsBeverly, MA741Marlborough, MA: 725 personsMarlborough, MA725Gloucester, MA: 714 personsGloucester, MA714Chelsea, MA: 708 personsChelsea, MA708Braintree Town, MA: 705 personsBraintree Town, MA705Woburn, MA: 705 personsWoburn, MA705Agawam Town, MA: 613 personsAgawam Town, MA613West Springfield Town, MA: 601 personsWest Springfield Town, MA601North Attleborough Town, MA: 579 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA579Franklin Town, MA: 574 personsFranklin Town, MA574Amherst Town, MA: 568 personsAmherst Town, MA568Watertown, MA: 542 personsWatertown, MA542Bridgewater Town, MA: 499 personsBridgewater Town, MA499Melrose, MA: 473 personsMelrose, MA473Gardner, MA: 460 personsGardner, MA460Northampton, MA: 432 personsNorthampton, MA432Southbridge Town, MA: 416 personsSouthbridge Town, MA416Winthrop Town, MA: 357 personsWinthrop Town, MA357North Adams, MA: 325 personsNorth Adams, MA325Amesbury, MA: 322 personsAmesbury, MA322Palmer Town, MA: 318 personsPalmer Town, MA318Easthampton, MA: 310 personsEasthampton, MA310Greenfield, MA: 306 personsGreenfield, MA306Newburyport, MA: 279 personsNewburyport, MA279Boston, MA: 12,135 personsBoston, MA12,135Springfield, MA: 4,282 personsSpringfield, MA4,282Worcester, MA: 3,936 personsWorcester, MA3,936New Bedford, MA: 2,965 personsNew Bedford, MA2,965Fall River, MA: 2,521 personsFall River, MA2,521Brockton, MA: 2,328 personsBrockton, MA2,328Lawrence, MA: 2,312 personsLawrence, MA2,312Lowell, MA: 2,273 personsLowell, MA2,273Lynn, MA: 1,885 personsLynn, MA1,885Quincy, MA: 1,827 personsQuincy, MA1,827Cambridge, MA: 1,541 personsCambridge, MA1,541Chicopee, MA: 1,338 personsChicopee, MA1,338Haverhill, MA: 1,326 personsHaverhill, MA1,326Taunton, MA: 1,301 personsTaunton, MA1,301Newton, MA: 1,238 personsNewton, MA1,238Somerville, MA: 1,207 personsSomerville, MA1,207Framingham, MA: 1,141 personsFramingham, MA1,141Weymouth Town, MA: 1,110 personsWeymouth Town, MA1,110Malden, MA: 1,104 personsMalden, MA1,104Waltham, MA: 1,099 personsWaltham, MA1,099Revere, MA: 1,090 personsRevere, MA1,090Methuen, MA: 1,052 personsMethuen, MA1,052Barnstable Town, MA: 1,047 personsBarnstable Town, MA1,047Pittsfield, MA: 986 personsPittsfield, MA986Medford, MA: 972 personsMedford, MA972Peabody, MA: 957 personsPeabody, MA957Fitchburg, MA: 952 personsFitchburg, MA952Holyoke, MA: 951 personsHolyoke, MA951Attleboro, MA: 938 personsAttleboro, MA938Leominster, MA: 905 personsLeominster, MA905Salem, MA: 897 personsSalem, MA897Westfield, MA: 881 personsWestfield, MA881Everett, MA: 795 personsEverett, MA795Randolph Town, MA: 745 personsRandolph Town, MA745Beverly, MA: 741 personsBeverly, MA741Marlborough, MA: 725 personsMarlborough, MA725Gloucester, MA: 714 personsGloucester, MA714Chelsea, MA: 708 personsChelsea, MA708Braintree Town, MA: 705 personsBraintree Town, MA705Woburn, MA: 705 personsWoburn, MA705Agawam Town, MA: 613 personsAgawam Town, MA613West Springfield Town, MA: 601 personsWest Springfield Town, MA601North Attleborough Town, MA: 579 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA579Franklin Town, MA: 574 personsFranklin Town, MA574Amherst Town, MA: 568 personsAmherst Town, MA568Watertown, MA: 542 personsWatertown, MA542Bridgewater Town, MA: 499 personsBridgewater Town, MA499Melrose, MA: 473 personsMelrose, MA473Gardner, MA: 460 personsGardner, MA460Northampton, MA: 432 personsNorthampton, MA432Southbridge Town, MA: 416 personsSouthbridge Town, MA416Winthrop Town, MA: 357 personsWinthrop Town, MA357North Adams, MA: 325 personsNorth Adams, MA325Amesbury, MA: 322 personsAmesbury, MA322Palmer Town, MA: 318 personsPalmer Town, MA318Easthampton, MA: 310 personsEasthampton, MA310Greenfield, MA: 306 personsGreenfield, MA306Newburyport, MA: 279 personsNewburyport, MA279
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2018
persons		Change on 2017
1Boston, MA12,135-8.2%
2Springfield, MA4,282-6%
3Worcester, MA3,936-5.8%
4New Bedford, MA2,965-8%
5Fall River, MA2,521-6.4%
6Brockton, MA2,328-9.4%
7Lawrence, MA2,312-7.5%
8Lowell, MA2,273-9.8%
9Lynn, MA1,885-3.5%
10Quincy, MA1,827-4.8%
11Cambridge, MA1,541-9.7%
12Chicopee, MA1,338-5.8%
13Haverhill, MA1,326-8%
14Taunton, MA1,301-10.3%
15Newton, MA1,238-10.6%
16Somerville, MA1,207-10.3%
17Framingham, MA1,141-7.6%
18Weymouth Town, MA1,110-8.9%
19Malden, MA1,104-8.6%
20Waltham, MA1,099-6.6%
21Revere, MA1,090-5.8%
22Methuen, MA1,052-10.8%
23Barnstable Town, MA1,047-6.1%
24Pittsfield, MA986-7.6%
25Medford, MA972-11.5%
26Peabody, MA957-8.8%
27Fitchburg, MA952-6.1%
28Holyoke, MA951-2.8%
29Attleboro, MA938-8.8%
30Leominster, MA905-8.5%
31Salem, MA897-7.5%
32Westfield, MA881-7.9%
33Everett, MA795-10.5%
34Randolph Town, MA745-8.8%
35Beverly, MA741-4.4%
36Marlborough, MA725-5.5%
37Gloucester, MA714-3.8%
38Chelsea, MA708-6%
39Braintree Town, MA705-2.2%
39Woburn, MA705-6.9%
41Agawam Town, MA613-6.3%
42West Springfield Town, MA601-8.8%
43North Attleborough Town, MA579-5.5%
44Franklin Town, MA574-4%
45Amherst Town, MA568-10.8%
46Watertown, MA542-9.1%
47Bridgewater Town, MA499-9.6%
48Melrose, MA473-6.5%
49Gardner, MA460-0.6%
50Northampton, MA432-15%
51Southbridge Town, MA416-5%
52Winthrop Town, MA357-11%
53North Adams, MA325-3.8%
54Amesbury, MA322+0.9%
55Palmer Town, MA318-4.8%
56Easthampton, MA310-9.6%
57Greenfield, MA306-7.6%
58Newburyport, MA279-10.6%

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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

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, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_massachusetts_by_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/massachusetts-cities?period=2018.
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 12,135 in 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest unemployed people?

Newburyport, MA, with 279 in 2018.

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