Data / Rankings / Unemployed people / Cities in Massachusetts

Cities in Massachusetts by unemployed people

Boston, MA had the highest unemployed people of 58 cities in 2023, at 13,256. Easthampton, MA had the lowest, at 257. The median was 853. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest13,256Boston, MA
Lowest257Easthampton, MA
Median85358 cities

All cities, 2023

Boston, MA: 13,256 personsBoston, MA13,256Worcester, MA: 3,850 personsWorcester, MA3,850Springfield, MA: 3,738 personsSpringfield, MA3,738New Bedford, MA: 2,661 personsNew Bedford, MA2,661Lowell, MA: 2,395 personsLowell, MA2,395Brockton, MA: 2,393 personsBrockton, MA2,393Fall River, MA: 2,339 personsFall River, MA2,339Lawrence, MA: 2,219 personsLawrence, MA2,219Lynn, MA: 1,952 personsLynn, MA1,952Quincy, MA: 1,886 personsQuincy, MA1,886Cambridge, MA: 1,847 personsCambridge, MA1,847Somerville, MA: 1,465 personsSomerville, MA1,465Taunton, MA: 1,383 personsTaunton, MA1,383Haverhill, MA: 1,382 personsHaverhill, MA1,382Newton, MA: 1,375 personsNewton, MA1,375Chicopee, MA: 1,213 personsChicopee, MA1,213Waltham, MA: 1,184 personsWaltham, MA1,184Framingham, MA: 1,154 personsFramingham, MA1,154Malden, MA: 1,151 personsMalden, MA1,151Weymouth Town, MA: 1,146 personsWeymouth Town, MA1,146Revere, MA: 1,117 personsRevere, MA1,117Medford, MA: 1,109 personsMedford, MA1,109Methuen, MA: 1,093 personsMethuen, MA1,093Barnstable Town, MA: 992 personsBarnstable Town, MA992Fitchburg, MA: 978 personsFitchburg, MA978Peabody, MA: 943 personsPeabody, MA943Attleboro, MA: 941 personsAttleboro, MA941Salem, MA: 919 personsSalem, MA919Leominster, MA: 885 personsLeominster, MA885Everett, MA: 820 personsEverett, MA820Pittsfield, MA: 819 personsPittsfield, MA819Holyoke, MA: 812 personsHolyoke, MA812Woburn, MA: 769 personsWoburn, MA769Westfield, MA: 752 personsWestfield, MA752Marlborough, MA: 748 personsMarlborough, MA748Beverly, MA: 741 personsBeverly, MA741Chelsea, MA: 737 personsChelsea, MA737Randolph Town, MA: 715 personsRandolph Town, MA715Amherst Town, MA: 663 personsAmherst Town, MA663Gloucester, MA: 658 personsGloucester, MA658Braintree Town, MA: 653 personsBraintree Town, MA653Watertown, MA: 621 personsWatertown, MA621Franklin Town, MA: 604 personsFranklin Town, MA604Bridgewater Town, MA: 583 personsBridgewater Town, MA583North Attleborough Town, MA: 562 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA562West Springfield Town, MA: 548 personsWest Springfield Town, MA548Agawam Town, MA: 532 personsAgawam Town, MA532Melrose, MA: 486 personsMelrose, MA486Northampton, MA: 463 personsNorthampton, MA463Gardner, MA: 408 personsGardner, MA408Southbridge Town, MA: 396 personsSouthbridge Town, MA396Winthrop Town, MA: 355 personsWinthrop Town, MA355Amesbury, MA: 299 personsAmesbury, MA299Greenfield, MA: 290 personsGreenfield, MA290Newburyport, MA: 290 personsNewburyport, MA290Palmer Town, MA: 280 personsPalmer Town, MA280North Adams, MA: 262 personsNorth Adams, MA262Easthampton, MA: 257 personsEasthampton, MA257Boston, MA: 13,256 personsBoston, MA13,256Worcester, MA: 3,850 personsWorcester, MA3,850Springfield, MA: 3,738 personsSpringfield, MA3,738New Bedford, MA: 2,661 personsNew Bedford, MA2,661Lowell, MA: 2,395 personsLowell, MA2,395Brockton, MA: 2,393 personsBrockton, MA2,393Fall River, MA: 2,339 personsFall River, MA2,339Lawrence, MA: 2,219 personsLawrence, MA2,219Lynn, MA: 1,952 personsLynn, MA1,952Quincy, MA: 1,886 personsQuincy, MA1,886Cambridge, MA: 1,847 personsCambridge, MA1,847Somerville, MA: 1,465 personsSomerville, MA1,465Taunton, MA: 1,383 personsTaunton, MA1,383Haverhill, MA: 1,382 personsHaverhill, MA1,382Newton, MA: 1,375 personsNewton, MA1,375Chicopee, MA: 1,213 personsChicopee, MA1,213Waltham, MA: 1,184 personsWaltham, MA1,184Framingham, MA: 1,154 personsFramingham, MA1,154Malden, MA: 1,151 personsMalden, MA1,151Weymouth Town, MA: 1,146 personsWeymouth Town, MA1,146Revere, MA: 1,117 personsRevere, MA1,117Medford, MA: 1,109 personsMedford, MA1,109Methuen, MA: 1,093 personsMethuen, MA1,093Barnstable Town, MA: 992 personsBarnstable Town, MA992Fitchburg, MA: 978 personsFitchburg, MA978Peabody, MA: 943 personsPeabody, MA943Attleboro, MA: 941 personsAttleboro, MA941Salem, MA: 919 personsSalem, MA919Leominster, MA: 885 personsLeominster, MA885Everett, MA: 820 personsEverett, MA820Pittsfield, MA: 819 personsPittsfield, MA819Holyoke, MA: 812 personsHolyoke, MA812Woburn, MA: 769 personsWoburn, MA769Westfield, MA: 752 personsWestfield, MA752Marlborough, MA: 748 personsMarlborough, MA748Beverly, MA: 741 personsBeverly, MA741Chelsea, MA: 737 personsChelsea, MA737Randolph Town, MA: 715 personsRandolph Town, MA715Amherst Town, MA: 663 personsAmherst Town, MA663Gloucester, MA: 658 personsGloucester, MA658Braintree Town, MA: 653 personsBraintree Town, MA653Watertown, MA: 621 personsWatertown, MA621Franklin Town, MA: 604 personsFranklin Town, MA604Bridgewater Town, MA: 583 personsBridgewater Town, MA583North Attleborough Town, MA: 562 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA562West Springfield Town, MA: 548 personsWest Springfield Town, MA548Agawam Town, MA: 532 personsAgawam Town, MA532Melrose, MA: 486 personsMelrose, MA486Northampton, MA: 463 personsNorthampton, MA463Gardner, MA: 408 personsGardner, MA408Southbridge Town, MA: 396 personsSouthbridge Town, MA396Winthrop Town, MA: 355 personsWinthrop Town, MA355Amesbury, MA: 299 personsAmesbury, MA299Greenfield, MA: 290 personsGreenfield, MA290Newburyport, MA: 290 personsNewburyport, MA290Palmer Town, MA: 280 personsPalmer Town, MA280North Adams, MA: 262 personsNorth Adams, MA262Easthampton, MA: 257 personsEasthampton, MA257
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2023
persons		Change on 2022
1Boston, MA13,256-2.4%
2Worcester, MA3,850-9.2%
3Springfield, MA3,738-8.9%
4New Bedford, MA2,661-7.9%
5Lowell, MA2,395-5.4%
6Brockton, MA2,393-2.1%
7Fall River, MA2,339-7.4%
8Lawrence, MA2,219-8.9%
9Lynn, MA1,952-8.5%
10Quincy, MA1,886-4.9%
11Cambridge, MA1,847+6%
12Somerville, MA1,465+10%
13Taunton, MA1,383-0.6%
14Haverhill, MA1,382-4.4%
15Newton, MA1,375+7.9%
16Chicopee, MA1,213-4.8%
17Waltham, MA1,184-1.8%
18Framingham, MA1,154-4%
19Malden, MA1,151-4.3%
20Weymouth Town, MA1,146-6.4%
21Revere, MA1,117-10.4%
22Medford, MA1,109+4.6%
23Methuen, MA1,093-8.7%
24Barnstable Town, MA992-6.8%
25Fitchburg, MA978-6.2%
26Peabody, MA943-9.9%
27Attleboro, MA941-5.4%
28Salem, MA919+1.4%
29Leominster, MA885-7%
30Everett, MA820-8.1%
31Pittsfield, MA819-9.8%
32Holyoke, MA812-8.5%
33Woburn, MA769-1.9%
34Westfield, MA752-10.5%
35Marlborough, MA748-8.9%
36Beverly, MA741-2.4%
37Chelsea, MA737-9.6%
38Randolph Town, MA715-9.4%
39Amherst Town, MA663-2.6%
40Gloucester, MA658-8%
41Braintree Town, MA653-4.5%
42Watertown, MA621+2%
43Franklin Town, MA604+2.7%
44Bridgewater Town, MA583+1.2%
45North Attleborough Town, MA562-2.6%
46West Springfield Town, MA548-8.5%
47Agawam Town, MA532-9.4%
48Melrose, MA486+7.3%
49Northampton, MA463-7.2%
50Gardner, MA408-8.5%
51Southbridge Town, MA396-10.8%
52Winthrop Town, MA355-3.5%
53Amesbury, MA299-7.1%
54Greenfield, MA290-12.1%
54Newburyport, MA290+2.5%
56Palmer Town, MA280-10.3%
57North Adams, MA262-12.7%
58Easthampton, MA257-12.9%

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, 2023) [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, 2023. 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=2023. 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, 2023. 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=2023.

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, 2023 [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=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_massachusetts_by_2023,
  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, 2023}},
  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=2023. 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, 2023
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=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/massachusetts-cities?period=2023.
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 13,256 in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest unemployed people?

Easthampton, MA, with 257 in 2023.

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