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Manufacturing Compass

Massachusetts manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2023. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Massachusetts manufacturing in 2023

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

Establishments

6,779

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
392,201
Share of U.S.Calc
1.7%

Employment

237,152

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,868,061
Share of U.S.Calc
1.8%

Total wages

$23.9 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1.1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
2.2%

Average weekly wage

$1,938

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,588
vs. U.S.Calc
+22.0%

Average annual pay

$100,758

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$82,575
vs. U.S.Calc
+22.0%

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
    50,403
    Establishments
    728
    Avg. annual pay
    $142,491
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −6.6%
    Location quotient
    1.94
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    30,704
    Establishments
    1,187
    Avg. annual pay
    $83,039
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +18.5%
    Location quotient
    0.90
  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    27,247
    Establishments
    828
    Avg. annual pay
    $60,043
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +1.2%
    Location quotient
    0.66
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    18,940
    Establishments
    505
    Avg. annual pay
    $105,909
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +26.0%
    Location quotient
    0.71
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    18,779
    Establishments
    595
    Avg. annual pay
    $99,990
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +28.5%
    Location quotient
    1.27
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    16,460
    Establishments
    351
    Avg. annual pay
    $136,832
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +21.4%
    Location quotient
    0.77
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    12,842
    Establishments
    236
    Avg. annual pay
    $75,647
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +13.6%
    Location quotient
    0.74
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    11,127
    Establishments
    121
    Avg. annual pay
    $129,807
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +46.5%
    Location quotient
    0.26
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    7,747
    Establishments
    558
    Avg. annual pay
    $77,624
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +31.9%
    Location quotient
    0.88
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    6,875
    Establishments
    207
    Avg. annual pay
    $101,587
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +25.3%
    Location quotient
    0.70
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    6,704
    Establishments
    224
    Avg. annual pay
    $63,812
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +8.8%
    Location quotient
    0.84
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    6,678
    Establishments
    107
    Avg. annual pay
    $82,854
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +5.3%
    Location quotient
    0.79
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    5,004
    Establishments
    248
    Avg. annual pay
    $78,338
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +7.7%
    Location quotient
    0.51
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    4,035
    Establishments
    235
    Avg. annual pay
    $68,381
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +21.7%
    Location quotient
    0.48
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    2,898
    Establishments
    90
    Avg. annual pay
    $81,462
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.5%
    Location quotient
    0.33
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,735
    Establishments
    194
    Avg. annual pay
    $70,858
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +17.1%
    Location quotient
    0.28
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    2,119
    Establishments
    100
    Avg. annual pay
    $79,660
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +40.0%
    Location quotient
    0.99
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,735
    Establishments
    34
    Avg. annual pay
    $87,009
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +51.7%
    Location quotient
    2.78
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    1,638
    Establishments
    77
    Avg. annual pay
    $46,433
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −16.7%
    Location quotient
    0.78
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    1,480
    Establishments
    118
    Avg. annual pay
    $60,995
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +17.8%
    Location quotient
    0.62
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    1,002
    Establishments
    38
    Avg. annual pay
    $110,540
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −19.7%
    Location quotient
    0.39

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/2023/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2023 (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