2021 Top 25 Employers

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Learn more about the Top 25 employers in Cambridge.

2021 Rank NAME OF EMPLOYER 2021 EMPLOYEES1 BUSINESS
1 HARVARD UNIVERSITY 11,867 HIGHER EDUCATION
2 MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
 8,777 HIGHER EDUCATION
3 CITY OF CAMBRIDGE2
 3,564 GOVERNMENT
4 TAKEDA PHARMACEUTICALS
 3,368 BIOTECHNOLOGY
5 BIOGEN 2,317 BIOTECHNOLOGY
6 NOVARTIS INST. FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH
 2,239 BIOTECHNOLOGY
7 BROAD INSTITUTE
 2,092 RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
8 GOOGLE
 2,000 SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
9 PHILLIPS NORTH AMERICA 2,000 ELECTRONICS & HEALTH TECHNOLOGY 
10 CAMBRIDGE INNOVATION CENTER3
 1,956 START UP INCUBATOR
11 CAMBRIDGE HEALTH ALLIANCE
 1,829 HEALTH CARE
12 MT. AUBURN HOSPITAL 1,677 HEALTH CARE
13 SANOFI
 1,618 BIOTECHNOLOGY
14 AKAMAI TECHNOLOGIES
 1,588 INTERNET TECHNOLOGY
15 DRAPER LABORATORY
 1,438 RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
16 HUBSPOT 1,309 MARKETING SOFTWARE
17 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
 1,255 GOVERNMENT
18 EF EDUCATION FIRST
 1,130 TRAVEL & EDUCATION PROGRAMS
19 ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS 983 BIOTECHNOLOGY
20 PFIZER
 927 BIOTECHNOLOGY
21 MODERNA
 870 BIOTECHNOLOGY
22 CARGURUS 733 SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
23 LAB CENTRAL4 638 BIOTECHNOLOGY
24 FORRESTER RESEARCH
 578 BUSINESS SERVICES
25 RAYTHEON BBN TECHNOLOGIES
 564 RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

Footnotes

  1. All figures collected between 9/1/21 and 12/15/21 unless otherwise noted. Employment at many Cambridge firms is dynamic, responding to changing market factors. Announcements affecting employment since the end of 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 627 firms.
  4. Lab Central is a start up incubator that houses employees from 78 firms.
  5. Employers added since 2020: Lab Central, Moderna Therapeutics, Raytheon BBN Technologies.
  6. Employers Removed since 2020: Bluebird Bio, IBM, Pegasystems.

Source: Cambridge Community Development Department and cited employers, unless otherwise noted, 2021.

Top 25 Data from 1995 through 2021

Top 25 Employer information from 1995 to present is available though Cambridge Open Data. Use the filter tools to display and export one or more years of interest.

For More Information

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