City · Worcester County, Massachusetts

Worcester, Massachusetts

Worcester is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, part of the Worcester, MA metro area. It has 207,055 residents. Worcester, Massachusetts has a quality-of-life score of 59 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,429 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Massachusetts it ranks #198 of 225 cities and towns. It ranks best on mammography screening (high), mental health providers (high) and suicide rate (low). It ranks worst on child care cost burden (high), income inequality (Gini index) (high) and time spent in the emergency room (high).

59Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,429 of 15,651 cities and towns
Massachusetts: #198 of 225 in MA
Population: 207,055 (2020-2024)
Land area: 37 mi²
Density: 5,542.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 2582000

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety81#3,014/15,637
Economy17#13,030/15,631
Housing17#12,433/14,977
Health52#7,545/15,609
Healthcare84#2,447/15,650
Environment84#2,460/15,453
Education66#5,359/15,649
Infrastructure55#7,100/15,650
Community56#6,816/15,651
Leisure & amenities38#9,706/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Worcester, Massachusetts ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Worcester County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Mammography screening · high57.0%
96/100Massachusetts 54.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWorcester County value
Mental health providers · high621 /100k
94/100Massachusetts 787 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWorcester County value
Suicide rate · low8.0 /100k
92/100Massachusetts 8.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataWorcester County value
Firearm deaths · low4.2 /100k
91/100Massachusetts 3.5 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataWorcester County value
Public EV charging ports · high13.6 /10k
89/100Massachusetts 16.4 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyWorcester County value
Public transit commuters · high3.2%
89/100Massachusetts 6.5%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301

Weaknesses

Child care cost burden · high38.7%
12/100Massachusetts 39.7%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWorcester County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.478
12/100Massachusetts 0.489United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Time spent in the emergency room · high219 min
13/100Massachusetts 216 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesWorcester County value
New business applications · low9.0 /1k
15/100Massachusetts 11.1 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauWorcester County value
Child poverty rate · high23.3%
15/100Massachusetts 11.4%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Poverty rate · high19.6%
15/100Massachusetts 9.8%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
185,143 (2015-2019) → 207,055 (2020-2024)
+12%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
0.9 /1k (2021) → 3.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+294%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
80.2% (2015-2019) → 91.0% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$48,139 (2015-2019) → $70,102 (2020-2024)
+46%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
30.2% (2015-2019) → 35.2% (2020-2024)
+5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Child poverty rateImproving
27.0% (2015-2019) → 23.3% (2020-2024)
−3.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Worcester, Massachusetts improved on 4 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 8 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved4

Household income+46%$48,139 → $70,102
Bachelor's++5 points30.2% → 35.2%
Broadband+11 points80.2% → 91.0%
Child poverty−3.7 points27.0% → 23.3%

Declined2

Uninsured+1.1 points3.3% → 4.4%
Price / income+0.6×4.7× → 5.3×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Worcester, Massachusetts between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.8 min2015-2019	24.1 min2020-2024	−0.6 min	Within the margin of error	56%
Bachelor's degree or higher	30.2%2015-2019	35.2%2020-2024	+5 points	Improved	67%
Broadband subscriptions	80.2%2015-2019	91.0%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	64%
Child poverty rate	27.0%2015-2019	23.3%2020-2024	−3.7 points	Improved	64%
Effective property tax rate	1.58%2015-2019	1.28%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Little change	75%
High school diploma or higher	84.7%2015-2019	85.7%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Home price to income ratio	4.7×2015-2019	5.3×2020-2024	+0.6×	Declined	40%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4932015-2019	0.4782020-2024	−0.015	Within the margin of error	64%
Median household income	$48,1392015-2019	$70,1022020-2024	+46%	Improved	81%
Poverty rate	20.0%2015-2019	19.6%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Public transit commuters	3.5%2015-2019	3.2%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Rent as share of income	32.1%2015-2019	32.0%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Rent-burdened households	54.4%2015-2019	54.2%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Unemployment rate	5.6%2015-2019	6.5%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	3.3%2015-2019	4.4%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Declined	33%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Worcester, Massachusetts five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Worcester, Massachusetts in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Worcester, Massachusetts itself moved +4.2 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

207,055 residents (±50)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

79,501 households (±1,153)

Worcester, Massachusetts
Massachusetts share

Under $25k21%16,333
$25k–50k17%13,751
$50k–75k15%12,236

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

79,501 households (±1,153)

Worcester, Massachusetts
Massachusetts share

Own43%33,988
Rent57%45,513

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

101,324 workers (±1,966)

Worcester, Massachusetts
Massachusetts share

Drive alone65%66,096
Carpool11%11,113
Public transit3.2%3,212

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Worcester, MA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Worcester County, the county holding most of Worcester's residents.

Worcester County has 19,181 employer establishments, 219 for every 10,000 residents (0.88× the US rate of 248; 0.84× Massachusetts's), with 319,255 paid employees at an average annual pay of $63,330. The Census Bureau also counts 68,262 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 19,181; 68,262 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 219; US 248 · Massachusetts 260
Paid employees: 319,255
Average annual pay: $63,330; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Worcester County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	1,756	20.1	1.30×More than typical	12,210	$81,343	5,825
Restaurants and other eating places	1,463	16.7	0.91×About typical	22,818	$25,792	313
Ambulatory health care services	1,415	16.2	0.78×Fewer than typical	24,632	$79,575	3,016
Services to buildings and dwellings	781	8.9	1.33×More than typical	4,256	$45,592	3,291
Construction of buildings	780	8.9	1.18×About typical	3,462	$85,590	2,325
Building equipment contractors	682	7.8	1.30×More than typical	5,184	$79,376	1,209
Lessors of real estate	644	7.4	0.60×Fewer than typical	2,425	$59,915	5,828
Limited-service restaurants	603	6.9	0.86×About typical	8,605	$23,401	115
Full-service restaurants	602	6.9	0.90×About typical	11,216	$27,947	112
Automotive repair and maintenance	522	6	1.19×About typical	2,587	$52,234	704
Landscaping services	514	5.9	1.68×More than typical	2,018	$58,465	834
Building finishing contractors	422	4.8	1.27×More than typical	1,691	$63,930	2,181

Rank places for an industry Open Worcester County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 874,225 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $31.4M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Worcester, Massachusetts: $152 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $31.4M; +7.3% vs FY2025
Per resident: $152; US $1,994
Sole-source: 19%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.7%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Army$12.6M40%
Defense Logistics Agency$6.1M19%
National Institutes of Health$5.1M16%
Department of the Navy$3.8M12%
Department of Veterans Affairs$3.3M11%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$225K0.7%
Public Buildings Service$188K0.6%
Environmental Protection Agency$100K0.3%

Top recipients

SOLVUS GLOBAL LLC$14M45%
DAVID CLARK COMPANY INCORPORATED$5.9M19%
MICROBIOTIX, INC.$3.8M12%
COLLEGE OF HOLY CROSS$2.6M8.4%
LUTHERAN HOUSING CORPORATION - BROCKTON$2.4M7.7%

Spending by fiscal year

29MFY2017
37.7MFY2018
34.3MFY2019
29.8MFY2020
35MFY2021
23.4MFY2022
20.7MFY2023
24.7M

Top industries (NAICS)

Scientific research and development services · 5417$19.1M61%
Audio and video equipment manufacturing · 3343$5.3M17%
Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities) · 6231$3M9.7%
Colleges, universities, and professional schools · 6113$2.9M9.3%
Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing · 3344$294K0.9%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Worcester, Massachusetts

TO PROCURE A RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES TASK ORDER FOR SYNERGIZED SOLUTIONS FOR ADVANCED MANUFACTURING CHALLENGES.$11.2M
SOLVUS GLOBAL LLC· Worcester County, MA· Research & development· Mar 5, 2026 – Apr 21, 2026· W911QX26FA002
TO DEVELOP THE PPZ SERIES OF SMALL MOLECULE PAN-FILOVIRUS ENTRY INHIBITORS THROUGH LEAD OPTIMIZATION, SELECTION OF A PRECLINICAL CANDIDATE, AND IND-ENABLING PRECLINICAL STUDIES.$8.8M
MICROBIOTIX, INC.· Worcester County, MA· Research & development· Oct 31, 2022 – Aug 21, 2026· 75N93023C00001
TO DEVELOP PHENOXYACETAMIDE T3SS INHIBITORS AS ADJUNCTIVE AGENTS TO ANTIBACTERIAL THERAPY FOR MDR P. AERUGINOSA INFECTIONS.$7.3M
MICROBIOTIX, INC.· Worcester County, MA· Research & development· Jun 29, 2020 – Aug 26, 2026· 75N93020C00019

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Worcester, Massachusetts, so they do not add up across cities.

Worcester, Massachusetts's figures are part of those of Worcester County, MA ($112.2M in FY2026), never added to them: 28% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Worcester is mostly in Worcester County.

See federal money in Worcester County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Worcester, Massachusetts is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Worcester County83100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Worcester, MA81

Other cities and towns in Worcester County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2582000

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends