City Spotlight: New Bedford

Pioneer Institute analyzes 16 years of data for its City Spotlight Reports; this one focuses on New Bedford. The report finds that overall employment has declined in New Bedford, but the number of establishments in the city has grown in recent years, in part due to an influx of new economic development projects, such as funding for the Marine Commerce Terminal and MassDevelopment investment in property and new businesses. Read the report here. 

New Pioneer Institute City Spotlight Report Shines Light on New Bedford

Media inquiries: Micaela Dawson, mdawson@pioneerinstitute.org

BOSTON – While overall employment has declined in New Bedford, the number of establishments in the city has grown in recent years, in part due to an influx of new economic development projects, such as funding for the Marine Commerce Terminal and MassDevelopment investment in property and new businesses, according to a City Spotlight report from Pioneer Institute.

City Spotlights is a new Pioneer Institute product using 16 years of data from its MassEconomixTM,  MassAnalysisTM and other databases.

“America is at its best when its public officials and citizenry have access to essential data to inform decision-making”, said Greg Sullivan, Pioneer Institute’s research director. “Pioneer’s City Spotlights reports bolster fact-based knowledge by analyzing years of data, providing insight not only into New Bedford, but into Massachusetts, as well”.

Other significant New Bedford findings include:

  1. The largest employment sectors from 2004 to 2020 were healthcare and social assistance; manufacturing; and retail trade.
  2. The sectors with the greatest number of establishments were healthcare and social assistance; other services (except for public administration); and retail trade.
  3. The three sectors with the most employment growth from 2004 to 2020 were agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (+713%); arts, entertainment, and recreation (+63%); and educational services (+39%).
  4. The city’s graduation rate grew from 57.4% in 2006 to 80.6% in 2020. Similarly, the dropout rate has decreased from 24.8% in 2006 to 11.9% in 2020.

City Spotlights are drawn from MassEconomixTM and MassAnalysisTM.

MassEconomixTM is Pioneer Institute’s database that uses local, regional, and state data on employment, business, and industry trends to provide users with high-quality, timely data.

MassAnalysisTM  allows users to “benchmark” their communities with other districts in the state with a peer identifier tool. Read the 2022 New Bedford City Spotlight Report to compare trends in New Bedford to those in its closest peer communities.

About Pioneer

Pioneer’s mission is to develop and communicate dynamic ideas that advance prosperity and a vibrant civic life in Massachusetts and beyond. Pioneer’s vision of success is a state and nation where our people can prosper and our society thrive because we enjoy world-class options in education, healthcare, transportation and economic opportunity, and where our government is limited, accountable and transparent. Pioneer values an America where our citizenry is well-educated and willing to test our beliefs based on facts and the free exchange of ideas, and committed to liberty, personal responsibility, and free enterprise.