Central Region

Economic Development in Central Massachusetts

Central Massachusetts is an economic development force of its own. From the western edge of the I-495 Corridor to Worcester, the second-largest city in New England, this expansive region is home to all the leading industries of Greater Boston. However, Central Massachusetts offers the benefit of lower-cost structures. Companies in industries such as biopharma, advanced manufacturing, finance, and distributive operations have all started and grown their businesses in the Central Region of Massachusetts. Also, many of New England’s premier land sites with impressive supporting infrastructure are in Central Massachusetts, located everywhere from the North Central region to the southern Blackstone Valley. 

Central Massachusetts by the Numbers

flex space lease rate psf (US rate $14.06)
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Colliers and CBRE

Increase in BioPharma employment, 2017-20
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U.S. B.L.S.

Labor Productivity Index (Massachusetts v. US)
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https://www.bls.gov/lpc/state-productivity.htm#Q03

Cost of Living Index (Region v. US)
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AdvisorSmith COL Index 2020

Cost of Living - Intra-state comp (Region v. Boston)
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                                                                  AdvisorSmith COL Index 2020

AdvisorSmith COL Index 2020

2023 Corporate Welcome Reception Honoree Videos

Honoring Companies Choosing to Locate and Expand in Central Massachusetts

Employees and Employers in the Central Region of Massachusetts

Central Massachusetts Economic Development Projects

Recent Posts

AllCentral

March 2026

Nasoya finished its $55 million expansion, building the world’s largest tofu production line in Ayer, Massachusetts.

October 2025

MassEcon Corporate Welcome honoree Auxilium launches businesses of the future from inside historic Worcester building.

June 2025

Veranova, a global leader in process development and manufacturing of APIs, broke ground on a 9K SF expansion in Devens that will include a state-of-the-art process development laboratory and two current Good Manufacturing Practice suites.

April 2025

PI (Physik Instrumente), a global leader in high-precision motion control and nanopositioning systems, is set to open a 140K SF facility in Fall 2025 in Shrewsbury and will triple the company’s current manufacturing space across New England.

March 2025

Italian drugmaker ITF Therapeutics, dedicated to bringing new therapeutic options to people living with rare diseases, has opened its new U.S. HQ in Concord.

May 2023

A manufacturer of advanced, industrial-scale hydrogen electrolyzer technology, announced the location of its first factory in Devens, Massachusetts. The company has leased a newly constructed 187,000 square-foot facility and is now hiring production team members. The Devens factory will have an annual manufacturing capacity of 1.2GW with production of EH2’s 100MW green hydrogen electrolyzers commencing in Q1 2024.

August 2022

Minnesota-based Trelleborg Healthcare & Medical is expand its manufacturing facility and BioPharma Center of Excellence in Northborough. The three-phase expansion project is expected to create at least 50 new jobs and phase one should commence in January 2023. 

August 2022

The Kraft Group recently held its topping off ceremony for the 373,500 SF manufacturing facility its building for its Worcester-based packaging manufacturing division in Bolylston. 

December 2021

UGPG RE Sutton, LLC plans to build a 2.3 million SF facility in Sutton and received the largest TIF deal, valued at $49.7 million over 20 years.

December 2021

USRE Patriot-Amazon plans to build a 2.86 million SF facility in Charlton. 

February 2021

Bristol Myers Squibb to build 244,000 SF cell therapy manufacturing facilities at Devens and add over 300 jobs.

September 2020

Lykan Bioscience, an emerging manufacturer of clinical products to provide solutions in cell and gene therapy manufacturing, has moved into its new facility in Hopkinton.  The company conducted a site search in MA and out-of-state and identified a viable location in Hopkinton.  The project consists of lease and renovation of a vacant, 63,000 sq. ft. building to create a state-of-the-art clinical manufacturing facility.    The company has created 125 new jobs and made a private investment of $12 million.  The town of Hopkinton approved a 10-year TIF agreement valued at approximately $416,788 to support the project.

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