Massachusetts — 2025 Year in Review
Land use and zoning activity from city and county planning meetings in Massachusetts during 2025.
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).
9,628
Projects with decisions
11,422
Approved actions
147
Denied actions
98.7%
Approval rate (of actions)
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.