Worcester Business Journal Special Editions

4 2015 Central Mass By The Numbers • Worcester Business Journal www.wbjournal.com Table of Contents Demographics & Employment. ...................... 8 Highest- and lowest-paying jobs in Central Mass. ........................ 8 Highest and lowest unemployment rates in Central Mass. ........... 9 Employment in Massachusetts ..................................................... 10 Population growth by community in Central Mass. ..................... 11 Unemployment rate by community in Central Mass. .................. 12 Mass. population projection by county ........................................ 13 Education ..................................................... 14 Educational attainment by county ................................................... 14 College enrollments in Central Mass. ............................................. 16 MCAS scores at Central Mass. high schools .................................. 17 Innovation schools in Central Mass. ................................................ 18 School district spending in Central Mass. ...................................... 19 Finance & Economics .................................. 21 Leading banks in key Central Mass. communities ........................ 21 Bank branches by community in Central Mass. ............................. 23 Worcester city budget breakdown .................................................. 24 State budget breakdown .................................................................. 24 Tax levies by community in Central Mass. ..................................... 27 Health Care ................................................. 28 Hospital expenses per inpatient stay .............................................. 28 Health insurance premiums ............................................................ 29 Central Mass. hospitals' operating margins ................................... 30 Active medical professionals in Mass. ............................................ 30 Real Estate ................................................... 32 Highest commercial/industrial property tax rates ......................... 32 Office vacancy rates .......................................................................... 32 Foreclosures by community in Central Mass. ................................ 33 Assessed value of property by community in Central Mass. ............................................................ 34 Value of tax-exempt property by community in Central Mass. ............................................................ 35 Single-family home building permits by community . .................. 36 Property tax rates by community in Central Mass. . ...................... 37 Technology & Energy .................................. 38 Renewable energy projects in Central Mass. ................................. 38 Fuel mix in Massachusetts................................................................ 39 Venture capital investment in Massachusetts ................................. 39 Top technology jobs in Massachusetts ........................................... 40 Top patent recipients in Central Mass. ............................................ 40 Tourism & Transportation ............................ 42 Transportation & Tourism quick hits ............................................... 42 Highest use of public transit by Central Mass. community ......... 42 Gasoline prices in Massachusetts ................................................... 43 Average commuting times by community in Central Mass. ......... 43 Occupancy and revenue for Worcester County hotels ................. 43 Business Resources ..................................... 44 Small business services in Massachusetts W hat's the old psychiatrist's adage? The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. When it comes to forecasting market needs, business behavior and economic development, that adage at least partially applies. Figuring what your business needs to survive and thrive over the next 12 months, 12 years and 12 decades takes the knowledge of what your market and customer base has done in the past, what it is doing now and how those trends over time add up to a predictor of future behavior. That knowledge is contained in the dozens of charts and graphs placed over these 48 pages. Want to know the fastest growing communities in Central Mass.? Check out the Demographics & Employment section. Want to know the best way to provide your employees medical insurance? Check out the Health Care section. Want to know the best places to locate a business? Combine the facts in the Real Estate and Transportation & Tourism sections. What you do with the information contained in Worcester Business Journal's Central Massachusetts By The Numbers publication is entirely up to you, and – in fact – the successful use of this information is one of the many ways good companies are separated from the bad. We can't tell you how to behave, but we can provide you with the market intelligence necessary for you to make smart decisions. Here are a couple of quick facts you can learn by perusing these pages: Natural gas still dominates New England's electricity capacity; the highest commercial property tax rates are in Framingham; we all should have gone to school to be anesthesiologists; and Central Massachusetts has expensive and profitable hospitals. My favorite fact, though: The average commuting time for the working age population in Worcester is 23.5 minutes. Maybe I should move closer to the city center. — Brad Kane, Editor Predicting the future Introduction/Table of Contents

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