Skip to content
Earthquakes Near Me / Massachusetts

Massachusetts Earthquakes: Recent Quakes and the Largest on Record

Massachusetts recorded 1 earthquake of magnitude 2.5 or more from 2016 to 2025, and the largest in the USGS catalog since 1900 is the M3.7 of October 2, 1994, 6 km W of Hardwick, Massachusetts.

Live from the USGS

Earthquakes near Boston in the last 30 days

Every quake within 155 miles of Boston, Massachusetts’s largest city, newest first. For your own address, enter a ZIP code.

Within
Magnitude
Reading the USGS earthquake catalog for magnitude 2.5 and up within 155 miles of Boston.

Live from the USGS earthquake catalog. Times are Eastern time; felt reports and the shaking level come from Did You Feel It? A new quake can take a few minutes to appear and its magnitude can be revised.

Massachusetts by the numbers

USGS catalog, read October 10, 2026
1
Quakes of M2.5+, 2016 to 2025
in ten years of the USGS catalog
43rd
Rank of 50 states
by quakes of M2.5+ a year
M3.7
Largest since 1900
October 2, 1994
0
M3+ in 2026
through October 10, 2026

Massachusetts recorded 1 earthquake of magnitude 2.5 or more from 2016 to 2025, which ranks it 43rd of the fifty states.

Since 1990

Massachusetts earthquakes by year

The USGS catalog lists 7 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or more in Massachusetts from 1990 to 2025, the most in 1994 (2). 2016 to 2025: 1; 2006 to 2015: 0.

Magnitude 3 and up in Massachusetts, 1990 to 2025; the tallest bar is 2. From the USGS catalog, read October 10, 2026.
Advertisement
Since 1900

The 10 largest earthquakes in Massachusetts

The largest earthquake in Massachusetts in the USGS catalog since 1900 is the M3.7 of October 2, 1994, 6 km W of Hardwick, Massachusetts.

  1. 1M3.7
    6 km W of Hardwick, MassachusettsOctober 2, 1994, 6.2 mi (10 km) deep
  2. 2M3.6
    10 km S of Bliss Corner, MassachusettsNovember 8, 2020, 6.2 mi (10 km) deep
  3. 3M3.4
    30 km SE of Gloucester, Massachusetts (offshore)October 16, 1963, 8.7 mi (14 km) deep
  4. 4M3.4
    Near Haverhill, MassachusettsOctober 16, 1907
  5. 5M3.3
    Near Georgetown, MassachusettsApril 24, 1903
  6. 6M3.3
    1 km NW of Hardwick, MassachusettsOctober 2, 1994, 6.2 mi (10 km) deep
  7. 7M3.3
    5 km NE of Granville, MassachusettsJune 16, 2000, 6.1 mi (10 km) deep
  8. 8M3.1
    7 km NW of White Island Shores, MassachusettsDecember 20, 1977, less than 1 km deep
  9. 9M3.1
    2 km ENE of Merrimac, MassachusettsJanuary 10, 1999, 1.2 mi (2 km) deep
  10. 10M3.0
    2 km SSW of Chatham, MassachusettsMarch 14, 1976, less than 1 km deep

From the USGS ComCat catalog, every magnitude since 1900, read October 10, 2026. Offshore quakes count when USGS names Massachusetts in the place and the quake is within 150 km of its coast. Each place links to the quake’s USGS page.

When it shakes

What to do in an earthquake

  1. 1

    Drop

    Drop where you are onto hands and knees.

  2. 2

    Cover

    Cover your head and neck with one arm and hand. If a sturdy table or desk is nearby, crawl underneath it for shelter. If no shelter is nearby, crawl next to an interior wall (away from windows). Stay on your knees; bend over to protect vital organs.

  3. 3

    Hold On

    Hold until the shaking stops. If under shelter, hold on with one hand and be ready to move with it when the shelter moves. If not under shelter, hold on to your head and neck with both arms and hands.

Ready.gov’s words, from Ready.gov: Earthquakes (updated Sep 9, 2026, read October 9, 2026). Practice it with The Great ShakeOut: Earthquake Drills.

A seismograph drum wrapped in paper with rows of ink traces, the pen drawing a new line as the drum turns
A seismogram being recorded by a seismograph at the Weston Observatory in Massachusetts. “Seismogram at Weston Observatory” by Z22, CC BY-SA 3.0
Questions

Massachusetts earthquake questions

Advertisement
Other states

Earthquakes in every state

Earthquakes near any ZIP code

More for Massachusetts

More from MyWild

Earthquakes near any ZIP codeEvery quake around your own address in the last 30 days.Massachusetts tornado seasonWhen tornadoes peak in the state.Massachusetts radonRadon levels across the state and how to test.Massachusetts well waterWhat to test a private well for.Massachusetts river levelsLive gauges and flood stages.Massachusetts fire dangerToday’s fire danger across the state.

Sources. The live list: the USGS FDSN event service. Massachusetts’s counts and largest quakes: the USGS ComCat catalog, read October 10, 2026, counted inside the state’s Census boundary and within 150 km of its coast where USGS names the state. Boston: the state’s most populous city in the Census Vintage 2024 estimates. Older years hold fewer small quakes because fewer instruments were listening.

Hero photograph: the San Andreas Fault across the Carrizo Plain. “Kluft-photo-Carrizo-Plain-Nov-2007-Img 0327” by Ikluft, CC BY-SA 4.0