DataWorks Commons
Methuen, MA
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53,475 people (2024) 50k-100k Northeast

Bright spots 1 indicator

Where Methuen, MA shows a real improvement in recent years, or stands clearly ahead of its peers. How this is calculated →

What needs attention

Nothing here shows a real worsening against similar-size cities right now - a good sign, not a blind spot; every indicator is still shown in full below. How this is calculated →

Big shifts

No price or population move stands out against similar-size cities right now. How this is calculated →

All indicators

Economy
Economy

Unemployment rate

▼ Lower is better Worsening
Compared against How peers are chosen →

Unemployment rose about 0.4 percentage points a year from 2022 to 2025. That is movement in the wrong direction.

Worsening slower than 52% of similar-size cities over 2022-2025.
Longer view: unemployment fell less than 0.1 percentage points a year from 2015 to 2025.
Most recent monthly reading: 4.6% in May 2026, down from 4.7% a year earlier.
4.6%
1990May 2026
Compare all 26 similar-size cities by change rank
Place Latest Today's rank Changelast 12 months Change rank History Latest vs. peers
Massachusetts ref 4.5% (May 26) +0.1pp
United States ref 4.2% (Jun 26) +0.1pp
Elyria, OH 3.4% (May 26) 5th -1.2pp 1st 13% below peers
Elkhart, IN 3.5% (May 26) 6th -1.0pp 2nd 10% below peers
Colton, CA 4.6% (May 26) 20th -0.8pp 3rd 18% above peers
Joplin, MO 3.6% (May 26) 8th -0.5pp 4th 8% below peers
Lincoln, CA 3.7% (May 26) 9th -0.4pp 5th 5% below peers
Grand Island, NE 2.9% (May 26) 1st -0.3pp 6th 26% below peers
Novato, CA 3.7% (May 26) 10th -0.3pp 7th 5% below peers
Wake Forest, NC 3.0% (May 26) 2nd -0.2pp 8th 23% below peers
Methuen, MA 4.6% (May 26) 21st -0.1pp 9th 18% above peers
Kentwood, MI 5.1% (May 26) 24th -0.1pp 10th 31% above peers
Rocky Mount, NC 5.8% (May 26) 26th +0.0pp 11th 49% above peers
Placentia, CA 3.7% (May 26) 11th +0.1pp 12th 5% below peers
Twin Falls, ID 3.2% (May 26) 3rd +0.1pp 13th 18% below peers
Eagle Mountain, UT 3.8% (May 26) 13th +0.2pp 14th 3% below peers
Galveston, TX 4.2% (May 26) 17th +0.2pp 15th 8% above peers
Diamond Bar, CA 4.7% (May 26) 22nd +0.2pp 16th 21% above peers
Huntington Park, CA 4.9% (May 26) 23rd +0.2pp 17th 26% above peers
Burleson, TX 3.5% (May 26) 7th +0.2pp 18th 10% below peers
Minnetonka, MN 3.9% (May 26) 14th +0.4pp 19th on par with peers
Normal, IL 3.7% (May 26) 12th +0.4pp 20th 5% below peers
Edina, MN 3.9% (May 26) 15th +0.5pp 21st on par with peers
Manhattan, KS 3.3% (May 26) 4th +0.5pp 22nd 15% below peers
Wheaton, IL 4.3% (May 26) 18th +0.7pp 23rd 10% above peers
Pensacola, FL 4.3% (May 26) 19th +0.9pp 24th 10% above peers
Pinellas Park, FL 4.1% (May 26) 16th +1.0pp 25th 5% above peers
Oak Park, IL 5.1% (May 26) 25th +1.0pp 26th 31% above peers
See all Economy data →