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Manufacturing Compass

Massachusetts manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2025. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Massachusetts manufacturing in 2025

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

Establishments

7,218

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
399,936
Share of U.S.Calc
1.8%

Employment

226,691

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,579,906
Share of U.S.Calc
1.8%

Total wages

$25.1 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

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

Average weekly wage

$2,129

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,721
vs. U.S.Calc
+23.7%

Average annual pay

$110,734

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$89,471
vs. U.S.Calc
+23.8%

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
    45,462
    Establishments
    791
    Avg. annual pay
    $156,534
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.6%
    Location quotient
    1.95
  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    29,036
    Establishments
    915
    Avg. annual pay
    $63,868
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +0.7%
    Location quotient
    0.70
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    28,512
    Establishments
    1,180
    Avg. annual pay
    $90,319
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +18.3%
    Location quotient
    0.86
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    18,563
    Establishments
    686
    Avg. annual pay
    $109,972
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +27.2%
    Location quotient
    1.30
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    16,764
    Establishments
    558
    Avg. annual pay
    $110,029
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +21.1%
    Location quotient
    0.66
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    15,850
    Establishments
    426
    Avg. annual pay
    $175,420
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +42.2%
    Location quotient
    0.76
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    12,661
    Establishments
    244
    Avg. annual pay
    $82,000
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +15.6%
    Location quotient
    0.77
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    11,128
    Establishments
    148
    Avg. annual pay
    $147,071
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +48.4%
    Location quotient
    0.27
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    6,995
    Establishments
    109
    Avg. annual pay
    $89,033
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +4.6%
    Location quotient
    0.85
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    6,988
    Establishments
    529
    Avg. annual pay
    $82,876
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +31.1%
    Location quotient
    0.87
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    6,940
    Establishments
    252
    Avg. annual pay
    $113,218
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +25.7%
    Location quotient
    0.69
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    6,457
    Establishments
    238
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,298
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +11.2%
    Location quotient
    0.84
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    4,846
    Establishments
    254
    Avg. annual pay
    $85,128
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +8.1%
    Location quotient
    0.50
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    3,948
    Establishments
    247
    Avg. annual pay
    $73,917
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +19.0%
    Location quotient
    0.51
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    2,927
    Establishments
    100
    Avg. annual pay
    $90,382
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.2%
    Location quotient
    0.35
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,211
    Establishments
    192
    Avg. annual pay
    $75,139
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +16.9%
    Location quotient
    0.24
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    1,924
    Establishments
    91
    Avg. annual pay
    $85,598
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +35.9%
    Location quotient
    1.02
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,796
    Establishments
    31
    Avg. annual pay
    $104,917
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +74.3%
    Location quotient
    3.25
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    1,364
    Establishments
    112
    Avg. annual pay
    $67,591
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +18.3%
    Location quotient
    0.63
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    1,319
    Establishments
    72
    Avg. annual pay
    $49,727
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −16.7%
    Location quotient
    0.72
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    1,000
    Establishments
    45
    Avg. annual pay
    $121,187
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −15.7%
    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/2025/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2025 (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