WORCESTER, MA — Health care and higher education continue to dominate Worcester’s economy, according to employer data included in the city budget.
UMass Memorial Health Care tops the list of Worcester’s largest private employers with more than 10,000 workers, while UMass Chan Medical School and MSC Industrial Supply Co. each employ between 5,000 and 9,000 people.
Hospitals, colleges and universities make up a significant share of the city’s largest employers, reflecting Worcester’s longstanding role as a regional center for medicine and education.
Major institutions, including Saint Vincent Hospital, Fallon Health, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, College of the Holy Cross, and Clark University, all rank among the city’s top employers.
Manufacturing also remains a key sector in Worcester’s economy. Saint-Gobain, Polar Beverages and AbbVie are among the major employers tied to manufacturing and biopharmaceutical production in the city.
The employer data was included in the city’s proposed Fiscal Year 2027 operating budget, released Friday. Its source was the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Data Axle, 2025, and excludes employees of the city and city-run businesses, and state and federal employees.
Here are Worcester’s top private employers, according to the budget:
The list underscores the outsized role that hospitals, colleges and research institutions play in Worcester’s workforce and economy, with health care and higher education accounting for a large portion of the city’s largest employers.
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