Massachusetts — 2025 Year in Review
Land use and zoning activity from city and county planning meetings in Massachusetts during 2025.
Massachusetts indexed 9,628 projects with decisions in 2025 across 14 counties, with 11,422 approved and 147 denied actions (98.7% approval rate). Worcester County led with 2,389 projects (25% of the state), followed by Middlesex County (1,697) and Suffolk County (1,522). Together those three counties accounted for 58% of indexed activity.
Read the Complete Massachusetts Planning Commission Guide for context on how planning decisions work in Massachusetts.
“Projects with decisions” counts unique projects. “Approved” and “Denied” count individual actions (one project can have multiple actions across meetings).
By county
| County | Projects | Approved actions | Denied actions | Approval % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnstable | 261 | 283 | 2 | 99.3% |
| Berkshire | 16 | 18 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Bristol | 192 | 195 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Dukes | 19 | 25 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Essex | 1,163 | 1,332 | 28 | 97.9% |
| Franklin | 52 | 74 | 2 | 97.4% |
| Hampden | 658 | 708 | 19 | 97.4% |
| Hampshire | 736 | 1,055 | 12 | 98.9% |
| Middlesex | 1,697 | 1,933 | 23 | 98.8% |
| Nantucket | 31 | 35 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Norfolk | 520 | 661 | 4 | 99.4% |
| Plymouth | 372 | 471 | 1 | 99.8% |
| Suffolk | 1,522 | 1,821 | 13 | 99.3% |
| Worcester | 2,389 | 2,811 | 43 | 98.5% |
Data from public meeting documents processed by Boardwalk. Coverage varies by jurisdiction. Not all cities and counties are included.