Knowing the ins and outs of the business and industry sectors in Cambridge, Massachusetts isn't just the purview of the local chamber of commerce. Ordinary people need to know what goes on in their city - where they can buy industrial sized basket strainers, which companies are likely to need skilled factory laborers, and what niches there might be left in the market in case they want to open a small shop of their own. As a potential Cambridge real estate buyer, you need to know as well. So here's an overview.

Education

If you've heard the name Cambridge before, it's probably in connection with the city's two largest employers: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University. Over 20,000 people work there as educators, facilitators, and support personnel. Industrial methods and research are developed here, so you'll see a lot of labs with the accompanying sophisticated equipment like spectrometers, MRI shields, and robotics.

Technology

An offshoot of the two universities (but especially MIT's) prowess in technological research and innovation is the private technology industry in Cambridge. Famous technology companies like Polaroid, Lotus Development, and Thinking Machines all got their start here, with one small lab and a collection of amprobe clamp meters, but have since grown out of the city. In recent years they've been replaced by biotechnology companies like Genzyme and Novartis, which have taken up residence at University Park.

Manufacturing

Before education came to dominate the scene, the top economic sector in Cambridge was manufacturing. Though the golden days of this industry are gone in North America, with heavy industrial equipment like power distribution blocks largely being manufactured overseas, there are still some factories remaining in Cambridge: 100 to be precise. Many of them are offshoots of the computer and biotechnology research carried on at the universities. These companies turn out such products as sugar, confections, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, computer parts, semiconductors, and other electronic components.

Retail

Retail sales are important in every city, as people need somewhere to buy food, clothing, gifts, and other essential items. Retail takes on an extra importance in Cambridge because of the large student populations in the two universities, who need everything from textbooks to furniture to tamper evident seals to keep their roommates out of their food. There are nearly 500 retail stores in Cambridge selling cars, auto parts, furniture, electronics, appliances, computers, building materials, groceries, liquor, health care products, clothing, books, musical instruments, fuel, and office supplies.