The local economy of Massachusetts and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data, plus daily local gas prices for the state, its counties and metro areas.
Unemployment rate
4.3%
-0.2 ptsvs a year ago
Counties: lowest Nantucket County/town 2.7%, highest Hampden County 5.7%.
August 2026, seasonally adjusted, preliminary
Average weekly pay
$2,201
+4.8%vs a year ago
3,552,946 jobs at 296,429 business locations.
Q1 2026, all jobs
New homes permitted
13,778
+22.8%this year vs last year
Most in Middlesex County 2,876, Suffolk County 2,158.
Homes in the last 12 months, to August 2026
People moving in
-30,460
-5.5 per 1,000residents
119,934 moved in and 150,394 moved out. Most newcomers came from New York.
Net people, 2022 to 2023, the newest year published
Massachusetts gas price
$4.33
+$1.27vs a year ago
Counties: lowest Hampden County $4.12, highest Nantucket County $5.79. Counties and metro areas
Regular, per gallon, Massachusetts, October 9, 2026
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for the history of that area.
The state, its counties and metro areas, updated daily. A separate series from the weekly survey prices above.
Business locations, employees and payroll by industry, 2023. Click an industry for its US report.
Business locations
184K
+0.5%vs 2022
2023, places with paid employees
Employees
3.49M
+2.7%vs 2022
Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance (17.7%).
2023, mid-March
Annual payroll
$301.8B
Wages and salaries paid during the year.
2023, all industries
Average pay
$86,550
Highest sector: Finance and Insurance $171,977.
Per employee per year
Share of Massachusetts's employees, 2023
| Industry | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 241,714 | $30,120 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 181,308 | $83,667 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools | 162,904 | $59,205 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 116,778 | $143,818 |
| Employment Services | 108,770 | $60,338 |
| Scientific Research and Development Services | 100,285 | $205,791 |
| Grocery Stores | 92,290 | $29,317 |
| Computer Systems Design and Related Services | 63,043 | $157,013 |
| Building Equipment Contractors | 59,728 | $93,114 |
| Offices of Physicians | 58,753 | $139,770 |
| Software Publishers | 57,916 | $192,597 |
| Insurance Carriers | 55,589 | $128,536 |
Most values are changed slightly to protect the privacy of single businesses; a few are withheld and shown as a range. Counties and metro areas have the same numbers in the area card above (Industries).
Cost, students and graduate earnings of the colleges in the state, from official public data.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Massachusetts, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Massachusetts is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row. Daily gas prices are average pump prices for Massachusetts, its counties and metro areas on the day shown. The weekly gas prices in the explorer come from a separate weekly survey that publishes a price for only some states, so a state without one shows the price of its region there; the two series are never combined.
The unemployment rate in Massachusetts was 4.3% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 4.5% a year earlier. 3,705,532 people were employed out of a labor force of 3,871,860. Among its counties, Nantucket County/town had the lowest rate (2.7%) and Hampden County the highest (5.7%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Massachusetts was $2,201 in Q1 2026, up 4.8% from a year earlier, across 3,552,946 jobs at 296,429 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 1,207 new homes in Massachusetts in August 2026 (445 single-family and 697 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 9,280, up 22.8% from the same months last year, and 13,778 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Middlesex County (2,876), Suffolk County (2,158), Worcester County (1,826) over the last 12 months.
No, more people moved out than in. From 2022 to 2023, 119,934 people moved to Massachusetts and 150,394 moved away, a net loss of 30,460 (-5.5 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from New York, Florida, New Hampshire, and most people who left went to Florida, New York, New Hampshire.
Regular gasoline in Massachusetts averaged $4.33 per gallon on October 9, 2026, up $1.27 from a year earlier. Diesel averaged $6.33. Among its counties, Hampden County had the lowest regular price ($4.12) and Nantucket County the highest ($5.79). In the weekly survey, Massachusetts averaged $4.30 in the week of October 5, 2026.
Health Care and Social Assistance (618,482 employees), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (369,685 employees), Retail Trade (357,807 employees) were the largest sectors in Massachusetts in 2023. In all, 183,767 business locations employed 3,487,228 people at an average pay of $86,550 a year.