Suffolk County · Massachusetts
Boston, MA jobs and wages
Who works here, what they earn, and which industries carry the local economy — Census ACS estimates for the city itself, not the wider metro.
Quick answer
Workers in Boston, MA earn a median of $55,909 a year, 25% above the national median of $44,587. Unemployment is 6% against 5.2% nationally, and education, health care & social assistance is the largest employer at 31.3% of jobs.
- Median earnings
- $55,909#8 of 94 metros
- Unemployment rate
- 6%US 5.2%
- Labor force participation
- 70.5%US 63.5%
- People employed
- 379,153Civilian employed, age 16+
What Boston does for a living
Share of the civilian employed population by industry, largest first.
- Education, health care & social assistance31.3%
- Professional, scientific & management19.7%
- Finance, insurance & real estate9%
- Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation & food8.5%
- Retail trade8%
- Manufacturing4.9%
- Transportation, warehousing & utilities4%
- Other services, except public administration4%
- Public administration3.9%
- Construction3%
- Information2.3%
- Wholesale trade1.2%
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting & mining0.1%
Related data for Boston
Earnings only mean something next to what things cost.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates
Tables B23025, B20002 and C24030, 2019-2023 ACS 5-year. Industry shares combine the male and female columns of C24030 and are rounded, so they may not total exactly 100%.