Data / Rankings / Unemployed people / Cities in Massachusetts

Cities in Massachusetts by unemployed people

Boston, MA had the highest unemployed people of 58 cities in 2024, at 15,619. North Adams, MA had the lowest, at 290. The median was 997. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest15,619Boston, MA
Lowest290North Adams, MA
Median99758 cities

All cities, 2024

Boston, MA: 15,619 personsBoston, MA15,619Worcester, MA: 4,551 personsWorcester, MA4,551Springfield, MA: 4,319 personsSpringfield, MA4,319New Bedford, MA: 2,882 personsNew Bedford, MA2,882Lowell, MA: 2,880 personsLowell, MA2,880Lawrence, MA: 2,651 personsLawrence, MA2,651Brockton, MA: 2,618 personsBrockton, MA2,618Fall River, MA: 2,589 personsFall River, MA2,589Lynn, MA: 2,315 personsLynn, MA2,315Quincy, MA: 2,292 personsQuincy, MA2,292Cambridge, MA: 2,279 personsCambridge, MA2,279Somerville, MA: 1,792 personsSomerville, MA1,792Newton, MA: 1,654 personsNewton, MA1,654Haverhill, MA: 1,615 personsHaverhill, MA1,615Taunton, MA: 1,537 personsTaunton, MA1,537Waltham, MA: 1,430 personsWaltham, MA1,430Malden, MA: 1,398 personsMalden, MA1,398Framingham, MA: 1,372 personsFramingham, MA1,372Weymouth Town, MA: 1,364 personsWeymouth Town, MA1,364Chicopee, MA: 1,360 personsChicopee, MA1,360Revere, MA: 1,347 personsRevere, MA1,347Medford, MA: 1,311 personsMedford, MA1,311Methuen, MA: 1,274 personsMethuen, MA1,274Fitchburg, MA: 1,157 personsFitchburg, MA1,157Barnstable Town, MA: 1,119 personsBarnstable Town, MA1,119Peabody, MA: 1,114 personsPeabody, MA1,114Attleboro, MA: 1,099 personsAttleboro, MA1,099Salem, MA: 1,080 personsSalem, MA1,080Leominster, MA: 1,020 personsLeominster, MA1,020Everett, MA: 974 personsEverett, MA974Holyoke, MA: 957 personsHolyoke, MA957Marlborough, MA: 923 personsMarlborough, MA923Woburn, MA: 922 personsWoburn, MA922Pittsfield, MA: 891 personsPittsfield, MA891Westfield, MA: 888 personsWestfield, MA888Chelsea, MA: 887 personsChelsea, MA887Randolph Town, MA: 878 personsRandolph Town, MA878Beverly, MA: 868 personsBeverly, MA868Amherst Town, MA: 840 personsAmherst Town, MA840Braintree Town, MA: 814 personsBraintree Town, MA814Watertown, MA: 768 personsWatertown, MA768Gloucester, MA: 761 personsGloucester, MA761Franklin Town, MA: 753 personsFranklin Town, MA753North Attleborough Town, MA: 670 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA670West Springfield Town, MA: 655 personsWest Springfield Town, MA655Bridgewater Town, MA: 636 personsBridgewater Town, MA636Agawam Town, MA: 591 personsAgawam Town, MA591Melrose, MA: 576 personsMelrose, MA576Northampton, MA: 552 personsNorthampton, MA552Southbridge Town, MA: 480 personsSouthbridge Town, MA480Gardner, MA: 472 personsGardner, MA472Winthrop Town, MA: 393 personsWinthrop Town, MA393Newburyport, MA: 351 personsNewburyport, MA351Amesbury, MA: 344 personsAmesbury, MA344Palmer Town, MA: 329 personsPalmer Town, MA329Greenfield, MA: 323 personsGreenfield, MA323Easthampton, MA: 309 personsEasthampton, MA309North Adams, MA: 290 personsNorth Adams, MA290Boston, MA: 15,619 personsBoston, MA15,619Worcester, MA: 4,551 personsWorcester, MA4,551Springfield, MA: 4,319 personsSpringfield, MA4,319New Bedford, MA: 2,882 personsNew Bedford, MA2,882Lowell, MA: 2,880 personsLowell, MA2,880Lawrence, MA: 2,651 personsLawrence, MA2,651Brockton, MA: 2,618 personsBrockton, MA2,618Fall River, MA: 2,589 personsFall River, MA2,589Lynn, MA: 2,315 personsLynn, MA2,315Quincy, MA: 2,292 personsQuincy, MA2,292Cambridge, MA: 2,279 personsCambridge, MA2,279Somerville, MA: 1,792 personsSomerville, MA1,792Newton, MA: 1,654 personsNewton, MA1,654Haverhill, MA: 1,615 personsHaverhill, MA1,615Taunton, MA: 1,537 personsTaunton, MA1,537Waltham, MA: 1,430 personsWaltham, MA1,430Malden, MA: 1,398 personsMalden, MA1,398Framingham, MA: 1,372 personsFramingham, MA1,372Weymouth Town, MA: 1,364 personsWeymouth Town, MA1,364Chicopee, MA: 1,360 personsChicopee, MA1,360Revere, MA: 1,347 personsRevere, MA1,347Medford, MA: 1,311 personsMedford, MA1,311Methuen, MA: 1,274 personsMethuen, MA1,274Fitchburg, MA: 1,157 personsFitchburg, MA1,157Barnstable Town, MA: 1,119 personsBarnstable Town, MA1,119Peabody, MA: 1,114 personsPeabody, MA1,114Attleboro, MA: 1,099 personsAttleboro, MA1,099Salem, MA: 1,080 personsSalem, MA1,080Leominster, MA: 1,020 personsLeominster, MA1,020Everett, MA: 974 personsEverett, MA974Holyoke, MA: 957 personsHolyoke, MA957Marlborough, MA: 923 personsMarlborough, MA923Woburn, MA: 922 personsWoburn, MA922Pittsfield, MA: 891 personsPittsfield, MA891Westfield, MA: 888 personsWestfield, MA888Chelsea, MA: 887 personsChelsea, MA887Randolph Town, MA: 878 personsRandolph Town, MA878Beverly, MA: 868 personsBeverly, MA868Amherst Town, MA: 840 personsAmherst Town, MA840Braintree Town, MA: 814 personsBraintree Town, MA814Watertown, MA: 768 personsWatertown, MA768Gloucester, MA: 761 personsGloucester, MA761Franklin Town, MA: 753 personsFranklin Town, MA753North Attleborough Town, MA: 670 personsNorth Attleborough Town, MA670West Springfield Town, MA: 655 personsWest Springfield Town, MA655Bridgewater Town, MA: 636 personsBridgewater Town, MA636Agawam Town, MA: 591 personsAgawam Town, MA591Melrose, MA: 576 personsMelrose, MA576Northampton, MA: 552 personsNorthampton, MA552Southbridge Town, MA: 480 personsSouthbridge Town, MA480Gardner, MA: 472 personsGardner, MA472Winthrop Town, MA: 393 personsWinthrop Town, MA393Newburyport, MA: 351 personsNewburyport, MA351Amesbury, MA: 344 personsAmesbury, MA344Palmer Town, MA: 329 personsPalmer Town, MA329Greenfield, MA: 323 personsGreenfield, MA323Easthampton, MA: 309 personsEasthampton, MA309North Adams, MA: 290 personsNorth Adams, MA290
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2024
persons		Change on 2023
1Boston, MA15,619+17.8%
2Worcester, MA4,551+18.2%
3Springfield, MA4,319+15.5%
4New Bedford, MA2,882+8.3%
5Lowell, MA2,880+20.3%
6Lawrence, MA2,651+19.5%
7Brockton, MA2,618+9.4%
8Fall River, MA2,589+10.7%
9Lynn, MA2,315+18.6%
10Quincy, MA2,292+21.5%
11Cambridge, MA2,279+23.4%
12Somerville, MA1,792+22.3%
13Newton, MA1,654+20.3%
14Haverhill, MA1,615+16.9%
15Taunton, MA1,537+11.1%
16Waltham, MA1,430+20.8%
17Malden, MA1,398+21.5%
18Framingham, MA1,372+18.9%
19Weymouth Town, MA1,364+19%
20Chicopee, MA1,360+12.1%
21Revere, MA1,347+20.6%
22Medford, MA1,311+18.2%
23Methuen, MA1,274+16.6%
24Fitchburg, MA1,157+18.3%
25Barnstable Town, MA1,119+12.8%
26Peabody, MA1,114+18.1%
27Attleboro, MA1,099+16.8%
28Salem, MA1,080+17.5%
29Leominster, MA1,020+15.3%
30Everett, MA974+18.8%
31Holyoke, MA957+17.9%
32Marlborough, MA923+23.4%
33Woburn, MA922+19.9%
34Pittsfield, MA891+8.8%
35Westfield, MA888+18.1%
36Chelsea, MA887+20.4%
37Randolph Town, MA878+22.8%
38Beverly, MA868+17.1%
39Amherst Town, MA840+26.7%
40Braintree Town, MA814+24.7%
41Watertown, MA768+23.7%
42Gloucester, MA761+15.7%
43Franklin Town, MA753+24.7%
44North Attleborough Town, MA670+19.2%
45West Springfield Town, MA655+19.5%
46Bridgewater Town, MA636+9.1%
47Agawam Town, MA591+11.1%
48Melrose, MA576+18.5%
49Northampton, MA552+19.2%
50Southbridge Town, MA480+21.2%
51Gardner, MA472+15.7%
52Winthrop Town, MA393+10.7%
53Newburyport, MA351+21%
54Amesbury, MA344+15.1%
55Palmer Town, MA329+17.5%
56Greenfield, MA323+11.4%
57Easthampton, MA309+20.2%
58North Adams, MA290+10.7%

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.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, 2024) [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, 2024. 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=2024. 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, 2024. 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=2024.

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, 2024 [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=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_massachusetts_by_2024,
  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, 2024}},
  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=2024. 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, 2024
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=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/massachusetts-cities?period=2024.
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  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Cities in Massachusetts by unemployed people using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"unemployed_persons","level":"municipality","within":"Massachusetts","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=unemployed_persons&level=municipality&within=Massachusetts&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which city has the highest unemployed people?

Boston, MA, with 15,619 in 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest unemployed people?

North Adams, MA, with 290 in 2024.

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