Counties in Massachusetts by unemployment rate, August 2026

Name: Counties in Massachusetts by unemployment rate, August 2026
Creator: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
License: Public domain (US federal government work, citation requested)

Hampden County had the highest unemployment rate of 14 counties in August 2026, at 5.7%. Nantucket County had the lowest, at 2.7%. The median was 4.1% and the figure for Massachusetts was 4.3%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest5.7Hampden County

Lowest2.7Nantucket County

Median4.114 counties

Massachusetts4.3History

All counties, August 2026

CSV Chart (SVG)

%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	August 2026 (%)	Change on August 2025
1	Hampden County Provisional	5.7	-0.1 pts
2	Bristol County Provisional	4.9	-0.2 pts
3	Essex County Provisional	4.6	-0.2 pts
4	Plymouth County Provisional	4.5	-0.2 pts
4	Worcester County Provisional	4.5	-0.3 pts
6	Suffolk County Provisional	4.4	-0.3 pts
7	Berkshire County Provisional	4.1	+0.1 pts
7	Franklin County Provisional	4.1	0 pts
9	Middlesex County Provisional	4	-0.3 pts
9	Norfolk County Provisional	4	-0.3 pts
11	Hampshire County Provisional	3.9	-0.4 pts
12	Barnstable County Provisional	3.8	+0.1 pts
13	Dukes County Provisional	2.9	0 pts
14	Nantucket County Provisional	2.7	0 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force, using the survey definition of unemployment: without work, available and looking for work. Spain: EPA, aged 16 and over. EU: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74. United States: civilian labour force aged 16 and over, from the Current Population Survey for the nation and from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics models, consistent with that survey, for states and counties. Other countries and the World: ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank, aged 15 and over.

Survey-based. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states and US counties, not Spanish municipalities. For municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate. US national and state rates are seasonally adjusted; county rates are not. Countries without a national or Eurostat series get the annual ILO modelled estimate, a model output rather than a survey result.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest unemployment rate?

Hampden County, with 5.7% in August 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Nantucket County, with 2.7% in August 2026.

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: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. Retrieved 2026-10-08.