Baggage Porters and Bellhops in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$33,424
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$7,616
18.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,880
Massachusetts costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Massachusetts — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$41,040
Kept after tax
$33,424
Worth in national money
$30,880
State rank
4
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for baggage porters and bellhops is strong here. Massachusetts's middle earner gets $41,040, putting the state 4 of 48 — about 10.68% ahead of the national figure.
- Within Massachusetts this is lower-paid work. Of 485 occupations the state publishes figures for, baggage porters and bellhops ranks 438. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $41,040 the take-home is $33,424. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $30,880 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $42,900, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For baggage porters and bellhops, Massachusetts sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $41,040, ranking 4 of 48 and running about 10.68% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Against every occupation Massachusetts reports, baggage porters and bellhops ranks 438 of 485, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Massachusetts income tax is $33,424 for baggage porters and bellhops, from $41,040. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $30,880. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $42,900 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Baggage Porters and Bellhops
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,150 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $41,040 |
| Top tenth earn over | $57,150 |
| This salary | $41,040 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Massachusetts | $33,424 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $35,156 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,298 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $38,884 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,407 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 108 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $41,040 as a midpoint for Massachusetts, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $34,150 and the ninetieth is $57,150 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $33,424 take-home in Massachusetts comes from $41,040. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 438 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $30,880 uses one figure for the whole of Massachusetts. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 485 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 438.
- The Massachusetts median of $41,040 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $34,150 to $57,150. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $33,424, from $41,040, assumes a single Massachusetts filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 438 of 485 locally, and the state ranks 4 of 48 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $30,880, worked from $41,040, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Massachusetts address, on work sitting at 438 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $42,900, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $34,150 and the top tenth $57,150, so most people doing this work in Massachusetts sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Massachusetts run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $30,880 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Massachusetts then takes its own share, leaving $33,424.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Massachusetts is $42,900. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($34,150 to $57,150) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Massachusetts rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Massachusetts's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $30,880 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $33,424 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Massachusetts income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.