Data / Rankings / Unemployed people / Cities in Massachusetts

Cities in Massachusetts by unemployed people

Boston, MA had the highest unemployed people of 58 cities in 2022, at 13,582. Newburyport, MA had the lowest, at 283. The median was 907. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest13,582Boston, MA
Lowest283Newburyport, MA
Median90758 cities

All cities, 2022

Boston, MA: 13,582 personsBoston, MA13,582Worcester, MA: 4,240 personsWorcester, MA4,240Springfield, MA: 4,101 personsSpringfield, MA4,101New Bedford, MA: 2,888 personsNew Bedford, MA2,888Lowell, MA: 2,532 personsLowell, MA2,532Fall River, MA: 2,525 personsFall River, MA2,525Brockton, MA: 2,445 personsBrockton, MA2,445Lawrence, MA: 2,436 personsLawrence, MA2,436Lynn, MA: 2,133 personsLynn, MA2,133Quincy, MA: 1,984 personsQuincy, MA1,984Cambridge, MA: 1,742 personsCambridge, MA1,742Haverhill, MA: 1,445 personsHaverhill, MA1,445Taunton, MA: 1,391 personsTaunton, MA1,391Somerville, MA: 1,332 personsSomerville, MA1,332Chicopee, MA: 1,274 personsChicopee, MA1,274Newton, MA: 1,274 personsNewton, MA1,274Revere, MA: 1,247 personsRevere, MA1,247Weymouth Town, MA: 1,224 personsWeymouth Town, MA1,224Waltham, MA: 1,206 personsWaltham, MA1,206Malden, MA: 1,203 personsMalden, MA1,203Framingham, MA: 1,202 personsFramingham, MA1,202Methuen, MA: 1,197 personsMethuen, MA1,197Barnstable Town, MA: 1,064 personsBarnstable Town, MA1,064Medford, MA: 1,060 personsMedford, MA1,060Peabody, MA: 1,047 personsPeabody, MA1,047Fitchburg, MA: 1,043 personsFitchburg, MA1,043Attleboro, MA: 995 personsAttleboro, MA995Leominster, MA: 952 personsLeominster, MA952Pittsfield, MA: 908 personsPittsfield, MA908Salem, MA: 906 personsSalem, MA906Everett, MA: 892 personsEverett, MA892Holyoke, MA: 887 personsHolyoke, MA887Westfield, MA: 840 personsWestfield, MA840Marlborough, MA: 821 personsMarlborough, MA821Chelsea, MA: 815 personsChelsea, MA815Randolph Town, MA: 789 personsRandolph Town, MA789Woburn, MA: 784 personsWoburn, MA784Beverly, MA: 759 personsBeverly, MA759Gloucester, MA: 715 personsGloucester, MA715Braintree Town, MA: 684 personsBraintree Town, MA684Amherst Town, MA: 681 personsAmherst Town, MA681Watertown, MA: 609 personsWatertown, MA609West Springfield Town, MA: 599 personsWest Springfield Town, MA599Franklin Town, MA: 588 personsFranklin Town, MA588Agawam Town, MA: 587 personsAgawam Town, MA587North Attleborough Town, MA: 577 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA577Bridgewater Town, MA: 576 personsBridgewater Town, MA576Northampton, MA: 499 personsNorthampton, MA499Melrose, MA: 453 personsMelrose, MA453Gardner, MA: 446 personsGardner, MA446Southbridge Town, MA: 444 personsSouthbridge Town, MA444Winthrop Town, MA: 368 personsWinthrop Town, MA368Greenfield, MA: 330 personsGreenfield, MA330Amesbury, MA: 322 personsAmesbury, MA322Palmer Town, MA: 312 personsPalmer Town, MA312North Adams, MA: 300 personsNorth Adams, MA300Easthampton, MA: 295 personsEasthampton, MA295Newburyport, MA: 283 personsNewburyport, MA283Boston, MA: 13,582 personsBoston, MA13,582Worcester, MA: 4,240 personsWorcester, MA4,240Springfield, MA: 4,101 personsSpringfield, MA4,101New Bedford, MA: 2,888 personsNew Bedford, MA2,888Lowell, MA: 2,532 personsLowell, MA2,532Fall River, MA: 2,525 personsFall River, MA2,525Brockton, MA: 2,445 personsBrockton, MA2,445Lawrence, MA: 2,436 personsLawrence, MA2,436Lynn, MA: 2,133 personsLynn, MA2,133Quincy, MA: 1,984 personsQuincy, MA1,984Cambridge, MA: 1,742 personsCambridge, MA1,742Haverhill, MA: 1,445 personsHaverhill, MA1,445Taunton, MA: 1,391 personsTaunton, MA1,391Somerville, MA: 1,332 personsSomerville, MA1,332Chicopee, MA: 1,274 personsChicopee, MA1,274Newton, MA: 1,274 personsNewton, MA1,274Revere, MA: 1,247 personsRevere, MA1,247Weymouth Town, MA: 1,224 personsWeymouth Town, MA1,224Waltham, MA: 1,206 personsWaltham, MA1,206Malden, MA: 1,203 personsMalden, MA1,203Framingham, MA: 1,202 personsFramingham, MA1,202Methuen, MA: 1,197 personsMethuen, MA1,197Barnstable Town, MA: 1,064 personsBarnstable Town, MA1,064Medford, MA: 1,060 personsMedford, MA1,060Peabody, MA: 1,047 personsPeabody, MA1,047Fitchburg, MA: 1,043 personsFitchburg, MA1,043Attleboro, MA: 995 personsAttleboro, MA995Leominster, MA: 952 personsLeominster, MA952Pittsfield, MA: 908 personsPittsfield, MA908Salem, MA: 906 personsSalem, MA906Everett, MA: 892 personsEverett, MA892Holyoke, MA: 887 personsHolyoke, MA887Westfield, MA: 840 personsWestfield, MA840Marlborough, MA: 821 personsMarlborough, MA821Chelsea, MA: 815 personsChelsea, MA815Randolph Town, MA: 789 personsRandolph Town, MA789Woburn, MA: 784 personsWoburn, MA784Beverly, MA: 759 personsBeverly, MA759Gloucester, MA: 715 personsGloucester, MA715Braintree Town, MA: 684 personsBraintree Town, MA684Amherst Town, MA: 681 personsAmherst Town, MA681Watertown, MA: 609 personsWatertown, MA609West Springfield Town, MA: 599 personsWest Springfield Town, MA599Franklin Town, MA: 588 personsFranklin Town, MA588Agawam Town, MA: 587 personsAgawam Town, MA587North Attleborough Town, MA: 577 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA577Bridgewater Town, MA: 576 personsBridgewater Town, MA576Northampton, MA: 499 personsNorthampton, MA499Melrose, MA: 453 personsMelrose, MA453Gardner, MA: 446 personsGardner, MA446Southbridge Town, MA: 444 personsSouthbridge Town, MA444Winthrop Town, MA: 368 personsWinthrop Town, MA368Greenfield, MA: 330 personsGreenfield, MA330Amesbury, MA: 322 personsAmesbury, MA322Palmer Town, MA: 312 personsPalmer Town, MA312North Adams, MA: 300 personsNorth Adams, MA300Easthampton, MA: 295 personsEasthampton, MA295Newburyport, MA: 283 personsNewburyport, MA283
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2022
persons		Change on 2021
1Boston, MA13,582-34.9%
2Worcester, MA4,240-32.2%
3Springfield, MA4,101-33.7%
4New Bedford, MA2,888-27%
5Lowell, MA2,532-36.9%
6Fall River, MA2,525-27.8%
7Brockton, MA2,445-39.7%
8Lawrence, MA2,436-45.1%
9Lynn, MA2,133-37.4%
10Quincy, MA1,984-36.2%
11Cambridge, MA1,742-22.9%
12Haverhill, MA1,445-37.6%
13Taunton, MA1,391-27.1%
14Somerville, MA1,332-30.7%
15Chicopee, MA1,274-32.3%
15Newton, MA1,274-24.8%
17Revere, MA1,247-37.3%
18Weymouth Town, MA1,224-31.2%
19Waltham, MA1,206-27.1%
20Malden, MA1,203-38.4%
21Framingham, MA1,202-28.5%
22Methuen, MA1,197-37%
23Barnstable Town, MA1,064-28.2%
24Medford, MA1,060-29.2%
25Peabody, MA1,047-31.5%
26Fitchburg, MA1,043-31.3%
27Attleboro, MA995-23.2%
28Leominster, MA952-28.5%
29Pittsfield, MA908-37.2%
30Salem, MA906-34.9%
31Everett, MA892-37.9%
32Holyoke, MA887-34.4%
33Westfield, MA840-27.3%
34Marlborough, MA821-27.8%
35Chelsea, MA815-38.7%
36Randolph Town, MA789-36.8%
37Woburn, MA784-26.5%
38Beverly, MA759-25.3%
39Gloucester, MA715-28.1%
40Braintree Town, MA684-34.5%
41Amherst Town, MA681-11.9%
42Watertown, MA609-26.7%
43West Springfield Town, MA599-31.1%
44Franklin Town, MA588-29.1%
45Agawam Town, MA587-28.6%
46North Attleborough Town, MA577-26.2%
47Bridgewater Town, MA576-18.5%
48Northampton, MA499-26%
49Melrose, MA453-29.5%
50Gardner, MA446-32.4%
51Southbridge Town, MA444-35.4%
52Winthrop Town, MA368-33.5%
53Greenfield, MA330-28.4%
54Amesbury, MA322-31.6%
55Palmer Town, MA312-30.5%
56North Adams, MA300-35.2%
57Easthampton, MA295-32.2%
58Newburyport, MA283-28.2%

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.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: unemployment (measure 04), annual average (Cities in Massachusetts by unemployed people, 2022) [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: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Cities in Massachusetts by unemployed people, 2022. 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/unemployed-people/massachusetts-cities?period=2022. 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, 2022. 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/unemployed-people/massachusetts-cities?period=2022.

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, 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/massachusetts-cities?period=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_massachusetts_by_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  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/unemployed-people/massachusetts-cities?period=2022. 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.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: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Cities in Massachusetts by unemployed people, 2022
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/unemployed-people/massachusetts-cities?period=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/massachusetts-cities?period=2022.
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.CurrentU20-24. 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 13,582 in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest unemployed people?

Newburyport, MA, with 283 in 2022.

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