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Manufacturing Compass

Massachusetts manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2024. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Massachusetts manufacturing in 2024

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

Establishments

6,842

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
397,198
Share of U.S.Calc
1.7%

Employment

231,186

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,733,350
Share of U.S.Calc
1.8%

Total wages

$24.4 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

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

Average weekly wage

$2,032

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,643
vs. U.S.Calc
+23.7%

Average annual pay

$105,649

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$85,461
vs. U.S.Calc
+23.6%

Location quotient

0.77

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Massachusetts is 0.77 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
    47,166
    Establishments
    750
    Avg. annual pay
    $147,382
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.9%
    Location quotient
    1.97
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    29,235
    Establishments
    1,155
    Avg. annual pay
    $87,561
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +19.6%
    Location quotient
    0.86
  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    28,560
    Establishments
    848
    Avg. annual pay
    $62,815
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +2.3%
    Location quotient
    0.69
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    18,556
    Establishments
    632
    Avg. annual pay
    $104,291
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +26.8%
    Location quotient
    1.29
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    18,370
    Establishments
    528
    Avg. annual pay
    $111,362
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +26.8%
    Location quotient
    0.71
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    16,133
    Establishments
    382
    Avg. annual pay
    $154,129
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +30.4%
    Location quotient
    0.77
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    12,764
    Establishments
    234
    Avg. annual pay
    $79,382
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +14.5%
    Location quotient
    0.75
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    10,892
    Establishments
    127
    Avg. annual pay
    $141,769
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +52.0%
    Location quotient
    0.26
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    7,306
    Establishments
    529
    Avg. annual pay
    $81,188
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +32.8%
    Location quotient
    0.87
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    6,810
    Establishments
    215
    Avg. annual pay
    $106,301
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +24.0%
    Location quotient
    0.69
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    6,664
    Establishments
    228
    Avg. annual pay
    $66,828
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +9.3%
    Location quotient
    0.85
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    6,498
    Establishments
    108
    Avg. annual pay
    $87,084
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +6.6%
    Location quotient
    0.78
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    4,909
    Establishments
    243
    Avg. annual pay
    $83,288
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +10.3%
    Location quotient
    0.50
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    3,935
    Establishments
    228
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,549
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +20.6%
    Location quotient
    0.49
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    2,877
    Establishments
    93
    Avg. annual pay
    $86,057
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.6%
    Location quotient
    0.33
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,779
    Establishments
    185
    Avg. annual pay
    $73,047
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +17.0%
    Location quotient
    0.29
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    2,056
    Establishments
    94
    Avg. annual pay
    $81,950
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +37.3%
    Location quotient
    1.03
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,809
    Establishments
    32
    Avg. annual pay
    $100,394
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +69.7%
    Location quotient
    3.04
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    1,466
    Establishments
    116
    Avg. annual pay
    $62,386
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +14.7%
    Location quotient
    0.64
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    1,372
    Establishments
    74
    Avg. annual pay
    $48,645
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −16.1%
    Location quotient
    0.71
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    1,028
    Establishments
    41
    Avg. annual pay
    $113,427
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −19.7%
    Location quotient
    0.40

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/2024/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2024 (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