New Bedford has one of the lowest shares of residents working remotely of any city in the United States, according to an analysis of new data from the Census Bureau.
The Bay Area Council Economic Institute report found only 6 percent of New Bedford’s residents worked from home last year, a proportion that pales in comparison to the share of remote workers in tech hubs like San Francisco and Cambridge, Mass., which is about 45 percent.
Of the 425 cities represented in the dataset, which excluded communities with fewer than 65,000 residents, New Bedford ranked 416th in its share of residents working remotely. That was the lowest of any city in Massachusetts, though Fall River and Lawrence both had shares of remote workers that were similar to New Bedford’s.
“Our economy is one here that in many ways kind of mirrors the economy of another age,” said Rick Kidder, who represents New Bedford as a co-CEO of the region’s chamber of commerce.
Fishing and seafood processing form the largest employment sector in New Bedford, and offer the relatively small city of 95,000 people a distinction that’s known internationally. For the past 20 years, New Bedford has been the most lucrative fishing port in America.
“It's very difficult to fish and work from home,” Kidder said.
Beyond seafood, Kidder and other business leaders in New Bedford say that almost none of the city’s major employers had the option of transitioning to remote work.
The city’s single largest private employer is a hospital. The next three largest companies are a trio of manufacturers — Joseph Abboud, the Acushnet Company and Ahead Inc. — that make clothing and sporting goods.
“Historically, over the last 25 years, every community in Massachusetts has lost large numbers of those manufacturing jobs,” said Anthony Sapienza, president of the New Bedford Economic Development Council. “But New Bedford and Fall River have lost fewer on a percentage basis than other metropolitan areas. So there's still a significant residue of jobs in manufacturing that can't be done remotely.”
As for the future, Sapienza and Kidder said New Bedford is poised to see an influx of remote office workers.
A train to Boston is scheduled to open next year. Kidder said he expects people who need to make only occasional trips to the office will enjoy the cheaper housing and the seaside charms of the Whaling City.
Ben Berke is the South Coast Bureau Reporter for The Public’s Radio. He can be reached at bberke@thepublicsradio.org. Follow him on Twitter @BenBerke6.
