Manufacturing · Massachusetts

Manufacturing in Massachusetts

NAICS 31 · Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023

Benchmarking Manufacturing in Massachusetts

Manufacturing (NAICS 31) in Massachusetts reports 234,190 workers across 5,920 establishments, with $21.0B of aggregate annual payroll flowing through Census CBP 2023 filings. That represents 1.9% of national employment for this industry — a concentration ratio that tells you whether Massachusetts is a primary labor market for this NAICS code or a smaller satellite. A share above 5% signals a meaningful regional cluster; below 1% usually means the state is not a structural fit for this industry at scale.

Wage benchmarking is where state-level data earns its keep. The average annual compensation for Manufacturing employees in Massachusetts is $89,512/yr, versus a national average of $73,202/yr. Massachusetts pays above the national average for this industry, which usually reflects higher skill concentration, union density, or regional cost of living.

Profitability data is only available at the national level because the IRS Statistics of Income program does not publish state-level margin breakdowns. The national net profit margin for Manufacturing is 6.7%, and while margins do vary by state, the direction of variance usually follows labor cost and establishment size — both shown above. For a complete picture, pair this state-industry view with the Manufacturing national page (entity structure, SBA lending, sub-industries) and the Massachusetts overview (top employers, payroll dispersion across industries).

Employment

234,190

Establishments

5,920

Annual Payroll

$21.0B

Avg Payroll/Employee

$89,512/yr

Compare to National Average

Profit Margin (National)

6.7% National

National avg — IRS SOI (no state-level profit data)

Avg Payroll/Employee

$89,512/yr Massachusetts
$73,202/yr National

Massachusetts vs National avg

Employment

234,190 Massachusetts
12,335,234 National

Massachusetts share of national

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Manufacturing businesses are in Massachusetts?
There are 5,920 Manufacturing (NAICS 31) establishments in Massachusetts, according to Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 data. These establishments employ 234,190 workers.
What is the average payroll for Manufacturing in Massachusetts?
The average annual payroll per employee for Manufacturing in Massachusetts is $89,512/yr. The national average for this industry is $73,202/yr. This data comes from the Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 survey.
How does Massachusetts compare nationally for Manufacturing?
Massachusetts accounts for 1.9% of national employment in Manufacturing, with 234,190 of 12,335,234 total US workers in this industry. The national profit margin for this industry is 6.7% (state-level profit data is not available from Census).
What is the profit margin for Manufacturing?
The national net profit margin for Manufacturing is 6.7%, based on IRS Statistics of Income data. Note that state-level profit margin data is not available from Census Bureau sources — this figure reflects the nationwide average across all business entities.
Disclaimer: PlainBizBench provides publicly available IRS and Census data for informational purposes only. This is not financial, tax, or business advice. Consult a qualified accountant or financial advisor for business-specific guidance.
Source: Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 · NAICS 31 · MA

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainBizBench Editorial

Source: U.S. Census Bureau — County Business Patterns / SUSB Industry employment scale, payroll, and firm-size benchmarks · 2025

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