Paying for a Public Education: An Examination of the FY26 Worcester Public Schools’ Budget is the latest in an on-going series from the Bureau, analyzing the budget-making process of the Worcester Public Schools and some of the new additions to this coming year's adopted budget.

Breaking Down the Budget: An Examination of Worcester’s FY26 City Budget is the Bureau’s latest analysis in its long-running series on municipal finance, outlining how the City funds services, allocates resources, and prepares for future challenges.

The Worcester Regional Research Bureau recommends that the City of Worcester establish a civilian oversight entity to strengthen accountability and rebuild public trust. Civilian oversight does not by itself guarantee changes in problematic practices; however, it ensures that violations of law or residents’ rights are brought into the open, creating an essential layer of accountability, transparency, and democratic governance.

Fixing the Foundation: Uneven Access to Modern Schools and a Blueprint for a More Equitable Future explores inequities in access to school facilities with conditions suited to 21st century learning contribute heavily to large and growing achievement gaps in Massachusetts.

This publication provides questions for the candidates and residents in Worcester to consider before the 2025 municipal election. Elections represent critical periods for a society to set agendas and initiate new approaches to resolve community concerns. We offer the following to provoke discussion, debate, and potentially decision as the voters of Worcester select their leaders for the 2026-2027 political cycle.

In May 2024, Greater Worcester Community Foundation and Worcester Regional Research Bureau partnered to launch Worcester County Insights, a county-wide community indicators platform offering the latest data on key indicators covering community life, demographics and diversity, economic mobility, employment and workforce, health and wellbeing, and youth and education.

This report, the first in a two-part series, examines ridership on the Worcester/Framingham Line. The line is one of the most popular among the MBTA’s 13 regional rail lines. This report looks at ridership data since 2020 to piece together an understanding of who is riding the line, when, and where they might be coming from. By using ridership and station boarding data, as well as demographic data from other sources, it will provide a deep look at where the line stands today.

Even the best municipal government can't possibly predict when and where there might be problems. In those cases, it needs to rely on the people to report their city-related issues before the city can solve Worcester's woes.

WRRB releases the fifth edition, Insights Insider: Worcester County's Growing Job Sectors. Insights Insider #5 will analyze job growth as well as commuting patterns within Worcester County.

In collaboration with the Worcester Business Journal, "Cashing in on Cannabis" shows the growth of excise tax collection on cannabis sales across Worcester County.