Massachusetts Apprenticeship Programs
As of September 2026, Massachusetts operates one of the larger registered-apprenticeship systems in the country: 17,500 active apprentices in 700 programs, with completion pay near $36.00/hour.
- Active apprentices
- 17,500
- National rank
- #17 / 51
- Completion rate
- 59.4%
- Completion wage
- $36
Massachusetts ranks #17 of 51 jurisdictions by active registered apprentices - about 2.1% of all U.S. registered apprentices. Its 59.4% completion rate sits 1.2 pts above the 58.2% national average, and apprentices who finish raise their pay by 85% - from $20 to $36 an hour.
Apprenticeship filing desk
Jurisdiction MA · Massachusetts
Massachusetts registered-apprenticeship filing: 17,500 active apprentices (rank 17/51), 700 programs, 59.4% completion.
- BOOK-MID 17,500
- RANK-MID #17
- PROG-MID 700
- COMP-MID 59.4%
- WAGE-STRONG +85%
- SHARE-SMALL 2.1%
- NEW-FY 4,400
Nearest enrollment peer: New Jersey (500 apprentice gap)
U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship filing stamps for this jurisdiction. Read: future proof careers
Where Massachusetts sits among all 51 jurisdictions
Enrollment by jurisdiction; Massachusetts sits in the top tercile. Inventory size is not a quality ranking.
Massachusetts vs all states by active apprentices
Where this state's DOL registered-apprenticeship enrollment sits among every tracked jurisdiction
17,500 17th of 51 higher than 34 of 51 states
States and territories, banded by active apprentices
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship data · 2026-09-25
Source: U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship data, compiled by PlainWorkforce.
Reading Massachusetts's numbers
What stands out in this state's DOL filing, most distinctive first. Every figure below is computed from the state's own row in the dataset.
The signature stat: intake
What separates Massachusetts is a slow front door: new registrations equal just 25.1% of the active base, a slower pipeline than 88% of states.
Where the scale sits
17,500 active apprentices rank 17 of 51 nationally, 2.1% of all registered enrollment.
Completion near the average
A 59.4% completion rate holds within two points of the national average (58.2%).
Fewer, larger programs
The state's 700 registered programs average 25 apprentices each, above the 23.6 national norm — enrollment concentrates in larger sponsors rather than spreading across many small ones.
Strong wage progression
Wages move further here than in most states: $19.50/hour at entry to $36.00 at completion, a 84.6% climb versus the 82.7% national norm.
Massachusetts's largest registered-apprenticeship occupations, ranked by AI-exposure score, most sit well below the 37% occupation-wide average (the dotted line), which is exactly why the trades are AI-resilient. Bars link to the full occupation profile where tracked.
- Electrician 13%
- Plumber 27%
- Carpenter 28%
- Elevator Mechanic 29%
- Iron Worker -
AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis of O*NET task data; the 37% line is the average across all 832 tracked occupations. Lower = more AI-resilient.
Frequently asked questions
How many apprentices does Massachusetts have?
17,500 active registered apprentices — rank 17 of 51 jurisdictions — spread over about 700 registered programs.
What is the apprenticeship completion rate in Massachusetts?
Roughly 59.4%, effectively at the national average of 58.2%.
How much do apprentices earn in Massachusetts?
Starting pay averages $19.50/hour and completion pay $36.00 — a 84.6% increase, among the strongest wage progressions of any state.
What are the top apprenticeship trades in Massachusetts?
The dataset's largest registered-apprenticeship occupations for Massachusetts are Electrician, Plumber, Iron Worker, Carpenter, Elevator Mechanic — construction trades dominate registered apprenticeship in every state.
Why is Massachusetts's apprentice pipeline slow?
The data shows the symptom, not the cause: 4,400 new registrations against 17,500 active apprentices is a 25.1% intake ratio, bottom-tercile nationally. The dataset does not record why sponsors register fewer new apprentices here.
Compare other states
Put these numbers to use
Use Massachusetts' apprenticeship numbers above to plan a specific trade path, not just compare states.
- Compare an apprenticeship path against a college degree using real wage and growth numbers. Apprenticeships vs college
- The full occupation directory covers wage and AI exposure for any specific trade. Browse all occupations
- See which occupations are projected to add the most jobs through 2034. Fastest-growing occupations
Enrollment and completion vary by program and year; these figures come from the U.S. Department of Labor's Registered Apprenticeship data.
Every figure on PlainWorkforce is rendered directly from BLS/O*NET source data, no number is typed in by an editor. Enrollment and wage figures are rounded. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these figures, or report a data error. Data current as of U.S. Department of Labor, Registered Apprenticeship.
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Registered Apprenticeship (active apprentices, registered programs, completion rates, and wages by state), O*NET (occupation task data, for the linked AI-exposure scores).