2016 Top 25 Employers

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Learn more about the Top 25 employers in Cambridge.

2016 Rank NAME OF EMPLOYER 2016 EMPLOYEES1 BUSINESS
1 HARVARD UNIVERSITY 12,304 HIGHER EDUCATION
2 MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 8,996 HIGHER EDUCATION
3 CITY OF CAMBRIDGE2 2,982 GOVERNMENT
4 BIOGEN 2,700 BIOTECHNOLOGY
5 NOVARTIS INST. FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH 2,365 BIOTECHNOLOGY
6 MT. AUBURN HOSPITAL 2,292 HEALTH CARE
7 CAMBRIDGE HEALTH ALLIANCE 1,835 HEALTH CARE
8 CAMBRIDGE INNOVATION CENTER3 1,704 START UP INCUBATOR
9 AKAMAI TECHNOLOGIES 1,658 INTERNET TECHNOLOGY
10 SANOFI AVENTIS/GENZYME 1,500 BIOTECHNOLOGY
11 DRAPER LABORATORY 1,440 RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
12 TAKEDA PHARMACEUTICALS/MILLENNIUM 1,427 BIOTECHNOLOGY
13 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 1,218 GOVERNMENT
14 BROAD INSTITUTE 1,174 RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
15 HUBSPOT 1,118 MARKETING SOFTWARE
16 IBM4,6 1,112 SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
18 EF EDUCATION FIRST 1,000 TRAVEL & EDUCATION PROGRAMS
18 GOOGLE 1,000 SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
18 PFIZER 1,000 BIOTECHNOLOGY
20 PEGASYSTEMS 768 SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
21 FORRESTER RESEARCH 629 BUSINESS SERVICES
22 SHIRE/BAXALTA5 580 BIOTECHNOLOGY
23 ABT ASSOCIATES6 550 PUBLIC POLICY CONSULTING
23 INTERSYSTEMS6 550 SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
25 SHAW'S SUPERMARKETS/STAR MARKET6 531 SUPERMARKET

Footnotes

  1. All figures collected between 8/4/16 and 12/14/16, unless otherwise noted. Employment at many Cambridge firms is dynamic. responding to changing market factors. Announcements affecting employment since the end if data collection are not factored into this table. All figures reflect employment within the City of Cambridge only. Whenever possible, totals are based on Full Time Equivalents (FTEs). Part time workers were counted as 0.5 FTEs, unless otherwise indicated by employer response.
  2. City of Cambridge figures include School Department employees.
  3. The Cambridge Innovation Center is a start up incubator that houses employees from 724 firms.
  4. IBM figure from Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
  5. In 2016 Baxalta, ranked 23rd in 2015, was acquired by Shire.
  6. Employer deleted since 2015: Lesley University, Microsoft, Spaulding Hospital Cambridge, Whole Foods. Employers added since 2015: Abt Associates, IBM, Intersystems, Shaws Supermarkets.

Source: Cambridge Community Development Department and cited employers, except as noted, 2016.

Top 25 Data from 1995 through 2015

Top 25 Employer information from 1995 to present can be found on the Cambridge Open Data site. You can use the filter tools to limit your display to one or more years of interest. Data can also be exported from the open data portal.

For More Information

For more information about socioeconomic and demographic statistics about Cambridge, please contact Cliff Cook, ccook@cambridgema.gov, Planning Information Manager, at 617/349-4656.