Top 5 Employers in Massachusetts: Which Companies Have the Most Jobs?

There are some seemingly unfriendly numbers for employers in Massachusetts. The state’s corporate tax rate ranks 37th highest among 50 states, while the unemployment tax ranks 48th, according to the National Tax Foundation’s 2015 state business tax climate index. 

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Many of the state’s largest employers, however, escape that tax burden. Seven of the top 10 are nonprofit hospitals and research centers, which are not required to pay taxes. 

And with the boom in technology and innovation, the state’s workforce grew by nearly 61,000 jobs in 2014, according to federal economic and labor force agencies, with nearly one in 10 workers employed by tech-based employers, according to the Boston Globe. 

Of the 3.2 million employees in Massachusetts, half work for employers with more than 1,000 employees.

Here are the largest employers in Massachusetts, according to the state’s Labor and Workforce Department. The list is categorized by number of employees within a range, such as 5,000 to 9,999. 

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At the top of the list is Brigham & Women’s Hospital followed by Massachusetts General Hospital. Both medical centers are in Boston and employ more than 10,000 workers and are the Commonwealth’s largest employers.

Next in line are 16 companies with workforces ranging from 5,000 up to 10,000 employees. Hospitals and medical research centers again dominate the type of employers in this range, including Tufts Medical Center and Boston Children’s Hospital.

Private employers within the 5,000 to 10,000 range include Staples Inc., Bose Corp., John Hancock Life Insurance Co., and Liberty Mutual Group Inc. within the state.

Two universities also fall into this category with MIT’s innovative Research Laboratory of Electronics and Boston University School of Medicine as major employers.

The number of employees is not the only measure of a strong employer. The Boston Globe partners each year with WorkplaceDynamics to survey employees statewide about the quality of the workplace. The latest poll in 2014 found the following five “Top Places to Work” among large companies:

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1. Kronos Incorporated
2. The Herb Chambers Companies
3. Winchester Hospital
4. Rockland Trust – Independent Bank Corp.
5. Akamai Technologies, Inc.

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