Massachusetts ranks #5 among US states for total patents filed in 2017, with 25,017 patents from 13,044 inventors across 375 cities. On a per-capita basis that is 3.6 patents per 1,000 residents, a standard benchmark for comparing state-level R&D intensity.
Top Cities in Massachusetts 2017
| Rank | City | Patents | Inventors |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Cambridge, MA | 2,582 | 1,308 |
| #2 | Boston, MA | 1,495 | 822 |
| #3 | Lexington, MA | 1,109 | 461 |
| #4 | Newton, MA | 1,059 | 525 |
| #5 | Brookline, MA | 984 | 458 |
| #6 | Arlington, MA | 777 | 402 |
| #7 | Somerville, MA | 724 | 421 |
| #8 | Waltham, MA | 564 | 309 |
| #9 | Acton, MA | 503 | 241 |
| #10 | Belmont, MA | 458 | 237 |
| #11 | Watertown, MA | 360 | 225 |
| #12 | Andover, MA | 360 | 188 |
| #13 | Westford, MA | 321 | 182 |
| #14 | Framingham, MA | 300 | 156 |
| #15 | Winchester, MA | 297 | 147 |
| #16 | Shrewsbury, MA | 286 | 144 |
| #17 | Sudbury, MA | 280 | 146 |
| #18 | Needham, MA | 278 | 153 |
| #19 | North Andover, MA | 269 | 108 |
| #20 | Medford, MA | 266 | 159 |
| #21 | Wellesley, MA | 265 | 140 |
| #22 | Bedford, MA | 264 | 132 |
| #23 | Concord, MA | 264 | 116 |
| #24 | Natick, MA | 248 | 135 |
| #25 | Marlborough, MA | 247 | 131 |