ExecutivePulse
Official Federal Data

Plymouth County, Massachusetts

FIPS 25023 · Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH · Population 535,075
9 Sources Updated June 22, 2026
$114,201
Median Income
$80,734 national
4.6%
Unemployment
4% national
$36.9B
GDP
41.8%
Bachelor's+
35.7% national

Demographics & Population

Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates

Household Income

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$114,201
Per Capita
$57,650
Mean Household
$151,136
Poverty Rate
7.1%
Median Income Comparison
Plymouth County$114,201
Massachusetts$103,960
National$80,734

Population Profile

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
65+: 19.8% (105,740 residents) 55-64: 15% (80,102 residents) 35-54: 25.2% (134,629 residents) 18-34: 19.4% (103,768 residents) Under 18: 20.7% (110,836 residents) 43 Median Age
Cohorts
Under 18 · 20.7%
18-34 · 19.4%
35-54 · 25.2%
55-64 · 15%
65+ · 19.8%
Race & Ethnicity
White77%
Black or African American8%
Asian1.7%
Hispanic or Latino(any race)4.9%
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.

Educational Attainment

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
93.1%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +3.5 pts
41.8%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +6.1 pts
16.1%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +2.0 pts

Employment Overview

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
535,075
Population
292,641
Labor Force
Employed
277,193
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4.6% ▲ +0.5 pts YoY
Mean Commute 6 min above national avg
32.5 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
16.2%
Key Takeaways
  • Income premium: Households earn well above the national median, supporting strong retail and housing markets.
  • Talent advantage: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment exceeds the national average by 6.1 pts, supports knowledge-economy and tech attraction.
  • Aging population: Median age of 43 is materially above the U.S. norm; succession planning and senior-services demand are real factors.

Economy & Industry

Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis

$36.9B
Gross Domestic Product · 2024
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · CAGDP1 Regional GDP

Top Industries by Employment

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics · Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages 2025 Annual
Top industries by employment in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, with employment, share of top sectors, and average wage
IndustryEmploymentShare of Top 10Avg Wage
1Health Care and Social Assistance
36,127 24.8%
$64,562
2Retail Trade
25,871 17.7%
$45,866
3Accommodation and Food Services
20,493 14.1%
$30,807
4Construction
15,282 10.5%
$101,874
5Other Services (except Public Administration)
9,318 6.4%
$43,379
6Manufacturing
9,269 6.4%
$81,358
7Administrative and Support and Waste Management
8,110 5.6%
$78,428
8Finance and Insurance
7,467 5.1%
$136,280
9Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
7,259 5.0%
$122,628
10Wholesale Trade
6,596 4.5%
$122,044
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Key Takeaways
  • Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 36,127 workers (24.8% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $64,562.
  • Economic scale: Regional GDP of $36.9B (2024).
  • Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $136,280 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $30,807, a 4.4x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration

Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.

Location Quotient Analysis

Concentrated Industries
Source: BLS QCEW · 3-digit NAICS sub-sector · Location Quotient vs. national employment share
Same source as the Top Industries table above, sub-sector view surfaces the specialization the supersector view masks (e.g., Plastics & Rubber Manufacturing inside the Manufacturing supersector).
Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing
7.09x
213
Waste Management and Remediation Services
2.74x
1,797
Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
2.43x
1,740
Food and Beverage Retailers
2.03x
8,338
Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional Orgs
1.87x
3,389
Nursing and Residential Care Facilities
1.84x
7,980
Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation
1.80x
69
Personal and Laundry Services
1.76x
3,531
Specialty Trade Contractors
1.71x
11,296
Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries
1.60x
3,861

Cluster Depth

Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Construction Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
11,296
Cluster Employment
1.71x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing
7.09x 213
Waste Management and Remediation Services
2.74x 1,797
Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
2.43x 1,740
Food and Beverage Retailers
2.03x 8,338
Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional Orgs
1.87x 3,389
Nursing and Residential Care Facilities
1.84x 7,980
Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation
1.80x 69
Personal and Laundry Services
1.76x 3,531
Specialty Trade Contractors
1.71x 11,296
Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries
1.60x 3,861

Attraction Opportunities

LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.03x
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
68 employed
0.12x
Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry
57 employed
0.17x
Wood Product Manufacturing
87 employed
0.19x
Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing
80 employed
0.26x
Chemical Manufacturing
293 employed
0.30x
Warehousing and Storage
714 employed
0.32x
Support Activities for Transportation
331 employed
Key Takeaways
  • Top specialization: Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing concentrates at 7.09x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
  • Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
  • Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Plymouth County's Top Sectors by Workforce Share
Each rectangle's area is proportional to that sector's share of total private-sector employment across all NAICS supersectors. Hover for exact employment.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW 2025 Annual · Private sector, NAICS supersectors

Housing & Affordability

Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026

Housing Overview

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$556,000
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,747
Rent/Mo
77.6%
Owner-Occ
6.9%
Vacancy
4.9x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average

HUD Fair Market Rents (County Average)

Renter-household-weighted average across 27 town FMR areas · Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,929/mo$1,631 to $2,359
1 Bedroom
$2,053/mo$1,761 to $2,476
2 Bedroom
$2,569/mo$2,311 to $2,941
3 Bedroom
$3,149/mo$2,889 to $3,526
4 Bedroom
$3,401/mo$3,060 to $3,894
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,855/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
  • In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 4.9x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
  • High home ownership: 77.6% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
  • Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$2,855/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.

Workforce Pipeline

Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition

Labor Market Overview

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
318,499
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 6 min above national avg
32.5 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
16.2%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
85%
of prime-age population
Labor force participation rate: 69% of working-age population (18-64) 69% Participation
▼ vs 2019

Education & Talent Pipeline

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
41.8%
HS Diploma+
93.1%
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
45,350/yr
Boston University 12,366/yr
University of Massachusetts-Amherst 9,752/yr
Northeastern University 9,235/yr
Boston College 5,123/yr
University of Massachusetts-Lowell 4,894/yr
University of Massachusetts-Boston 3,980/yr

Aging Workforce

Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
25.1%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.

Workforce by Occupation

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
45.3%
Service
17.1%
Sales & Office
19.3%
Construction / Maint.
8.8%
Production / Transport
9.4%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 277,193 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
  • Succession risk is real: 25.1% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
  • Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 31,353 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.

AI Insights

AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources

Sample AI Insight

Plymouth County shows strong potential for leather and allied product manufacturing attraction, with a 7.09x concentration and 213 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 25.1% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.

The interconnected base across leather and allied product manufacturing, waste management and remediation services, and transit and ground passenger transportation creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.

Industry Shift Analysis

Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100

Prospect Match Scores

Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example

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Data Sources

Updated from official federal government data.

Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23

Frequently Asked Questions

Key economic and demographic figures for Plymouth County, Massachusetts, from federal data sources.

What is the population of Plymouth County, Massachusetts?

535,075 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the median household income in Plymouth County, Massachusetts?

$114,201 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Plymouth County, Massachusetts?

4.6% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).

What is the GDP of Plymouth County, Massachusetts?

$36.9B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).