Springfield, Massachusetts, United States

🇺🇸 Springfield is a city in the state of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern Mill River. It is the third-largest city in Massachusetts, the fourth-most populous city in New England, and the 12th most populous in the North-eastern United States.

Economy Springfield's vicinity to both Boston and New York City lends it a location well suited for distribution, and in the past this has played a significant role in its economy. For this reason in the early 20th century it was the largest producer in New England of commercially produced cakes and pastries, and among the largest in bread—with one 1926 estimate of 1.4 million loaves of bread and 14 million breakfast rolls produced in the city on a weekly basis.

Today Springfield's top five industries (in order, by number of workers) are: Education and Health Services; Trade and Transportation; Manufacturing; Tourism and Hospitality; and Professional & Business Services. Springfield is considered to have a "mature economy", which protects the city to a degree during recessions and inhibits it somewhat during bubbles. Springfield is considered to have one of America's top emerging multi-cultural markets—the city features a 33% Latino population with buying power that has increased over 295% from 1990 to 2006.

With 25 universities and colleges within a 15-mile (24 km) radius from Springfield, including several of America's most prestigious universities and liberal arts colleges, and more than six institutions within the city itself, the Hartford–Springfield metropolitan area has been dubbed the Knowledge Corridor by regional educators, civic authorities, and businessmen—touting its 32 universities and liberal arts colleges, numerous highly regarded hospitals, and nearly 120,000 students. The Knowledge Corridor universities and colleges provide the region with an educated workforce, which yields a yearly GDP of over $100 billion—more than at least 16 U.S. States. Hartford–Springfield has become home to a number of biotech firms and high-speed computing centres. As of 2009 Springfield ranks as the 24th most important high-tech centre in the United States with approximately 14,000 high-tech jobs.

Business headquarters Hospital network Baystate Medical Center and gun maker Smith & Wesson are both headquartered in Springfield, and the largest employers in the city; CRRC MA began production in Springfield in 2018, assembling new Orange Line cars, as well as filling railcar contracts for other US cities, including Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

The City of Springfield is the economic centre of Western Massachusetts. It features the Pioneer Valley's largest concentration of retail, manufacturing, entertainment, banking, legal, and medical groups. Springfield is home to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' largest Fortune 100 company, MassMutual Financial Group. It is also home to the world's largest producer of handguns, Smith & Wesson, founded in 1852. It is home to Merriam Webster, the first and most widely read American–English dictionary, founded in 1806. It also serves as the headquarters of the professional American Hockey League, the NHL's minor league, Peter Pan Bus, and Big Y Supermarkets, among other businesses.

Springfield is also home to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' third largest employer, Baystate Health, with over 10,000 employees. Baystate is the western campus of Tufts University School of Medicine. Baystate Health is in the midst of a $300 million addition; nicknamed "The Hospital of the Future", it is the largest construction project in New England. In addition to Baystate, Springfield features two other nationally ranked hospitals; Mercy Medical, run by The Sisters of Providence, and Shriners Hospital for Children. The following companies maintain their headquarters in Springfield: • The American Hockey League: the primary development league for the NHL. • Baystate Health: Largest employer and healthcare provider in Western Massachusetts; 3rd largest employer in Massachusetts, constructing the $300 million "Hospital of the Future". • Big Y: a regional supermarket chain that was founded in nearby Chicopee, but is now headquartered in Springfield. Big Y operates more than 50 supermarkets throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut. • Breck Shampoo: Founded in Springfield in 1936. • Hampden Bank: Founded in Springfield in 1852. Headquartered in Springfield. • Health New England • Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company: Founded in 1851. MassMutual is the second largest Fortune 100 company based in Massachusetts (2010 list). The corporate headquarters are on State Street. • Merriam-Webster: Publisher of the original Webster Dictionary • Peter Pan Bus Lines: Headquartered in Metro Center, Peter Pan is moving its Springfield terminal and operations to Union Station as renovations are completed throughout 2017. • Smith & Wesson: Founded in 1852, Smith & Wesson is America's largest producer of handguns. The company maintains its corporate headquarters on Roosevelt Avenue in East Springfield.

Top City Employers include: 1 Baystate Medical Center; 2 Smith & Wesson; 3 General Dynamics; 4 MassMutual; 5 Mercy Medical Center; 6 U.S. Postal Service; 7 Big Y Foods; 8 Massachusetts Trial Court; 9 Springfield Republican; 10 Springfield College.