Worcester, Massachusetts — 2025 Year in Review
Land use and zoning activity from city and county planning meetings in Worcester during 2025.
Worcester County indexed 2,389 projects with at least one decision in 2025, leading to 2,811 approved and 43 denied actions. Approval ran at 98.5%, in line with the high-approval baseline most Massachusetts jurisdictions show. Worcester led with 1,342 projects (56% of the county), followed by Fitchburg at 288.
“Projects with decisions” counts unique projects. “Approved” and “Denied” count individual actions (one project can have multiple actions across meetings).
2,389
Projects with decisions
2,811
Approved actions
43
Denied actions
98.5%
Approval rate (of actions)
By city
| City | Projects | Approved actions | Denied actions | Approval % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton | 23 | 25 | 0 | 100.0% |
| East Douglas | 18 | 20 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Fitchburg | 288 | 377 | 1 | 99.7% |
| Gardner | 104 | 108 | 1 | 99.1% |
| Leominster | 3 | 4 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Lunenburg | 7 | 11 | 1 | 91.7% |
| Milford | 17 | 20 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Oxford | 102 | 113 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Rutland | 176 | 229 | 3 | 98.7% |
| South Lancaster | 6 | 8 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Spencer | 57 | 61 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Upton | 77 | 84 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Webster | 8 | 7 | 1 | 87.5% |
| Westborough | 110 | 134 | 5 | 96.4% |
| Winchendon | 42 | 44 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Worcester | 1,342 | 1,556 | 31 | 98.0% |
Data from public meeting documents processed by Boardwalk. Coverage varies by jurisdiction. Not all cities are included.