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Manufacturing Compass

Massachusetts manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2022. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Massachusetts manufacturing in 2022

Totals and averages for all private manufacturing employers in Massachusetts combined. They describe the industry statewide, not any individual plant or company.

Establishments

6,751

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
380,711
Share of U.S.Calc
1.8%

Employment

238,535

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,759,129
Share of U.S.Calc
1.9%

Total wages

$24 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
2.4%

Average weekly wage

$1,932

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,529
vs. U.S.Calc
+26.4%

Average annual pay

$100,483

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$79,483
vs. U.S.Calc
+26.4%

Location quotient

0.78

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Massachusetts is 0.78 times its share of all U.S. jobs.

Calcmarks our calculations from BLS figures (formulas below). All other values are published by BLS.

02Subsectors

Where manufacturing jobs are

The 21 three-digit NAICS manufacturing subsectors, largest employment first.

  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    51,233
    Establishments
    716
    Avg. annual pay
    $143,595
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.1%
    Location quotient
    1.97
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    31,082
    Establishments
    1,207
    Avg. annual pay
    $81,064
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +21.1%
    Location quotient
    0.91
  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    26,293
    Establishments
    816
    Avg. annual pay
    $57,802
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −0.1%
    Location quotient
    0.65
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    19,193
    Establishments
    584
    Avg. annual pay
    $97,893
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +30.3%
    Location quotient
    1.28
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    18,269
    Establishments
    496
    Avg. annual pay
    $102,930
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +27.2%
    Location quotient
    0.69
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    16,535
    Establishments
    334
    Avg. annual pay
    $146,700
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +33.6%
    Location quotient
    0.77
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    13,277
    Establishments
    239
    Avg. annual pay
    $73,110
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +14.2%
    Location quotient
    0.74
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    11,582
    Establishments
    122
    Avg. annual pay
    $128,454
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +52.4%
    Location quotient
    0.28
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    8,149
    Establishments
    570
    Avg. annual pay
    $75,091
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +31.1%
    Location quotient
    0.90
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    6,977
    Establishments
    202
    Avg. annual pay
    $97,033
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +24.8%
    Location quotient
    0.72
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    6,783
    Establishments
    107
    Avg. annual pay
    $83,630
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +9.1%
    Location quotient
    0.78
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    6,376
    Establishments
    218
    Avg. annual pay
    $64,358
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +11.5%
    Location quotient
    0.82
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    5,262
    Establishments
    255
    Avg. annual pay
    $75,258
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +8.2%
    Location quotient
    0.53
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    3,894
    Establishments
    240
    Avg. annual pay
    $65,899
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +22.4%
    Location quotient
    0.43
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    2,826
    Establishments
    89
    Avg. annual pay
    $79,878
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.5%
    Location quotient
    0.32
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,752
    Establishments
    190
    Avg. annual pay
    $67,888
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +14.6%
    Location quotient
    0.27
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    2,166
    Establishments
    102
    Avg. annual pay
    $80,338
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +46.6%
    Location quotient
    0.94
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    1,875
    Establishments
    76
    Avg. annual pay
    $43,663
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −18.3%
    Location quotient
    0.85
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    1,571
    Establishments
    121
    Avg. annual pay
    $57,157
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +14.6%
    Location quotient
    0.63
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,504
    Establishments
    31
    Avg. annual pay
    $96,712
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +75.3%
    Location quotient
    2.36
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    938
    Establishments
    41
    Avg. annual pay
    $113,345
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −14.5%
    Location quotient
    0.37

03By year

Massachusetts manufacturing, 2022–2025

Wages are in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation). BLS cautions that QCEW is not designed as a time series, so treat year-to-year differences as indicative.

Private manufacturing in Massachusetts by year, annual averages, nominal dollars
YearEmploymentAvg. annual payvs. U.S.Calc
2022238,535$100,483+26.4%
2023237,152$100,758+22.0%
2024231,186$105,649+23.6%
2025226,691$110,734+23.8%

04About this data

Source, definitions, and limits

Source
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
File
data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2022 (final BLS data)
Industry
NAICS 2022, sector 31–33 and its three-digit subsectors
Ownership
Private employers only
Geography
Statewide; compared with the U.S. total
Citation
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).

What these numbers cover

  • Jobs reported to state unemployment insurance programs, about 95% of U.S. wage and salary jobs. Self-employed workers and proprietors are excluded; people with two jobs may be counted twice.
  • Averages describe all employers combined and do not represent any single manufacturer. Where a subsector has few establishments or jobs, its averages can swing widely and are less representative.
  • Not disclosed: BLS withheld the value to protect employer confidentiality. It is never shown as zero. No BLS data: BLS publishes no figures for that combination.

Calculations

  • Share of U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value.
  • vs. U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value − 1.
  • Both inputs come from the same BLS file: same year, industry, and ownership. Not calculated when either value is withheld (shown as —).
  • Location quotient is published by BLS: the industry's share of all local jobs (all industries and ownerships) divided by its share nationally.

Read our methodology