The county economy from official statistics, with source and year on every table.
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By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Middlesex County is a county of Massachusetts with 1,638,365 residents. Its economy produced $240,665 million in 2024 (ranked #1 of 14 counties) and had 926,104 jobs with an average annual pay of $113,704 (#2 for pay). The unemployment rate was 3.8% in 2026M09. It is part of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metropolitan area (central county).
Middlesex County produced about $240,665 million of goods and services in 2024, which is 30.9% of the combined output of the 14 counties of Massachusetts that BEA reports (about 23.3% of the state's population lives here), and ranks it 1st of 14 on that measure. Per resident that is $146,894, 33% above the state average; the average for all counties of the state taken together is $110,522. In current dollars output grew 5.8% from 2023 to 2024, before adjusting for inflation.
BLS counts 926,104 jobs located in Middlesex County on average in 2024, spread over 58,457 employer sites (about 16 jobs per site). That is 0.57 jobs for every resident, above the 0.44 of the typical county in Massachusetts, which tells you whether the county is a place people mostly commute to for work or a place they commute from. The average annual pay per job was $113,704, 20% above the average of all counties in the state ($113,704 against $94,544). Average pay is total wages divided by jobs, so it is pulled up by high earners and counts part-time jobs as whole jobs; it is not the pay of a typical worker. The number of jobs fell 0.5% from 2023 to 2024.
The three largest private industries are professional and technical services (19.1% of private jobs, $198,377 a year on average), health care and social assistance (15.1% of private jobs, $71,058 a year on average), retail trade (8.5% of private jobs, $46,022 a year on average). Together they hold 42.6% of private-sector jobs. Among industries with at least 3% of jobs, the best paying is information at $238,881 a year, followed by professional and technical services ($198,377). The county is specialised in several industries: educational services (3.0 times the US share, 57,273 jobs); professional and technical services (2.5 times the US share, 159,395 jobs); management of companies (2.5 times the US share, 38,391 jobs). A location quotient above 1 means an industry employs a larger share of workers here than in the whole country, so these are the industries where local employers compete hardest for skills. Several of the biggest employers pay well below the county average: health care and social assistance ($71,058), retail trade ($46,022), accommodation and food services ($37,809). Jobs there are plentiful but the pay is lower than the headline average suggests.
In 2026M09 the unemployment rate in Middlesex County was 3.8%, 8% below the average of the state's counties (3.8% against 4.1%). The labour force (people working or looking for work) numbered 932,913. Over the last 12 months it ranged from 3.7% (2026M04) to 4.6% (2026M01); the latest month is preliminary and BLS revises it. These county rates are not seasonally adjusted, so compare the same month across years.
The median household income was $130,847 (ACS 2020–2024), 26% above the state median ($130,847 against $103,960). The guide covers 22 cities with this as the main county: Cambridge, Lowell, Newton, Somerville, Framingham, Malden, Waltham, Medford. Open any of them for rent, home values, commuting and climate. Within the county, median rent runs from $1,397 in Hudson to $2,891 in Lexington, so where you live matters as much as which county you pick.
Counties close to Middlesex County in output are Suffolk County, Norfolk County. Compare their jobs, pay and unemployment on their own pages.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ | Rank among the 14 counties of Massachusetts ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,638,365 | 1 of 14 |
| GDP 2024 | $240,665 million | 1 of 14 |
| GDP per resident | $146,894 | 2 of 14 |
| Jobs (QCEW 2024) | 926,104 | 1 of 14 |
| Average annual pay | $113,704 | 2 of 14 |
| Job change vs 2023 | -0.5% | 12 of 14 |
| Unemployment rate (lower is better) | 3.8% | 3 of 14 |
| Median household income | $130,847 | 2 of 14 |
Federal jobs in Massachusetts (896) →All cities of MassachusettsState guide: Massachusetts
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
Cities of this guide whose main county is Middlesex County.
| City ⇅ | Population ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ | Median home value ⇅ | Bachelor's+ ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge | 118,796 | $130,748 | $2,787 | $1,092,100 | 80.8% |
| Lowell | 118,368 | $78,658 | $1,625 | $429,200 | 30.0% |
| Newton | 89,044 | $190,304 | $2,370 | $1,264,900 | 81.1% |
| Somerville | 81,036 | $132,572 | $2,517 | $911,300 | 69.4% |
| Framingham | 72,399 | $107,419 | $2,033 | $627,300 | 48.7% |
| Malden | 65,906 | $100,606 | $2,204 | $633,500 | 45.1% |
| Waltham | 64,902 | $120,216 | $2,268 | $748,700 | 57.3% |
| Medford | 59,354 | $129,540 | $2,509 | $755,500 | 59.8% |
| Everett | 50,045 | $85,218 | $2,076 | $610,000 | 24.9% |
| Arlington | 46,350 | $150,701 | $2,082 | $933,800 | 76.1% |
| Woburn | 41,939 | $111,185 | $2,221 | $673,500 | 46.5% |
| Marlborough | 41,647 | $91,968 | $1,871 | $513,100 | 40.5% |
| Lexington | 34,295 | $238,444 | $2,891 | $1,203,100 | 84.3% |
| Melrose | 29,650 | $133,953 | $1,970 | $822,900 | 62.0% |
| Wakefield | 27,793 | $134,306 | $1,958 | $723,500 | 59.7% |
| Belmont | 27,175 | $183,137 | $2,527 | $1,159,000 | 80.9% |
| Burlington | 26,274 | $146,436 | $2,718 | $740,600 | 58.4% |
| Reading | 25,612 | $165,912 | $1,991 | $809,000 | 66.3% |
| Winchester | 23,406 | $230,198 | $2,279 | $1,215,200 | 79.5% |
| Stoneham | 23,355 | $113,964 | $2,035 | $671,900 | 55.9% |
| Wilmington | 23,336 | $168,152 | $2,394 | $680,500 | 50.4% |
| Hudson | 15,719 | $90,524 | $1,397 | $473,300 | 43.5% |
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional and technical services | 159,395 | 19.1% | $198,377 | 2.47 |
| Health care and social assistance | 125,576 | 15.1% | $71,058 | 0.95 |
| Retail trade | 70,488 | 8.5% | $46,022 | 0.76 |
| Manufacturing | 67,086 | 8.0% | $137,097 | 0.88 |
| Accommodation and food services | 62,812 | 7.5% | $37,809 | 0.75 |
| Educational services | 57,273 | 6.9% | $101,275 | 2.99 |
| Administrative and waste services | 46,985 | 5.6% | $82,635 | 0.86 |
| Construction | 42,904 | 5.1% | $103,224 | 0.88 |
| Management of companies | 38,391 | 4.6% | $173,443 | 2.46 |
| Information | 37,193 | 4.5% | $238,881 | 2.14 |
| Wholesale trade | 29,190 | 3.5% | $137,429 | 0.80 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 25,224 | 3.0% | $58,069 | 0.90 |
| Finance and insurance | 22,442 | 2.7% | $155,188 | 0.60 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 18,969 | 2.3% | $60,576 | 0.48 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 12,554 | 1.5% | $34,559 | 0.81 |
| Real estate and rental | 11,930 | 1.4% | $107,513 | 0.83 |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 3,606 | 0.4% | $76,313 | 0.48 |
| Utilities | 1,918 | 0.2% | $136,687 | 0.54 |
| Mining, oil and gas | 116 | 0.0% | $94,049 | 0.03 |
A location quotient above 1 means the industry is more concentrated here than in the US. BLS withholds sectors with too few employers.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Labour force | 932,913 |
| Employed residents | 897,090 |
| Unemployed residents | 35,823 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.8% |
| Jobs located in the county (QCEW) | 926,104 |
| Employer sites | 58,457 |
Residents employed and jobs located here differ: many residents commute to other counties.
| County ⇅ | Population ⇅ | GDP 2024 ⇅ | GDP per resident ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Unemployment ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middlesex County | 1,638,365 | $240,665 million | $146,894 | 926,104 | $113,704 | 3.8% |
| Worcester County | 867,788 | $60,947 million | $70,233 | 351,476 | $71,641 | 4.2% |
| Essex County | 813,054 | $60,733 million | $74,697 | 323,694 | $75,548 | 4.3% |
| Suffolk County | 785,121 | $190,778 million | $242,992 | 713,809 | $131,280 | 4.2% |
| Norfolk County | 730,082 | $75,071 million | $102,826 | 346,327 | $84,497 | 3.9% |
| Bristol County | 582,270 | $36,041 million | $61,897 | 227,971 | $64,669 | 4.5% |
| Plymouth County | 535,075 | $36,917 million | $68,993 | 194,985 | $69,858 | 4.2% |
| Hampden County | 462,815 | $30,598 million | $66,113 | 202,129 | $62,834 | 5.3% |
| Barnstable County | 231,668 | $19,298 million | $83,302 | 96,280 | $64,707 | 3.8% |
| Hampshire County | 162,028 | $10,389 million | $64,117 | 65,786 | $62,006 | 3.8% |
| Berkshire County | 129,430 | $9,165 million | $70,812 | 57,946 | $62,257 | 3.9% |
| Franklin County | 70,944 | $3,704 million | $52,208 | 25,435 | $54,261 | 3.8% |
| Dukes County | 20,933 | $2,110 million | $100,784 | 9,176 | $71,428 | 3.3% |
| Nantucket County | 14,483 | $2,107 million | $145,505 | 8,560 | $78,799 | 3.0% |
1,638,365 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024).
$240,665 million in 2024 (BEA, current dollars).
3.8% in 2026M09 (BLS, not seasonally adjusted; the latest month may be revised).
926,104 jobs on average in 2024 with an average annual pay of $113,704 (BLS QCEW).