Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$77,800
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$27,250
25.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$71,879
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
$105,050
Kept after tax
$77,800
Worth in national money
$71,879
State rank
2
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Massachusetts is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $105,050, which ranks 2 of 49 states with published figures. That is about 24.14% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 485 occupations Massachusetts reports, this job comes in at 90 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $105,050 the take-home is $77,800. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $71,879 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $134,120, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Massachusetts ranks 2 of 49 states publishing a median for biological science teachers, postsecondary, at $105,050 — about 24.14% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Biological science teachers, postsecondary ranks 90 of 485 occupations by median in Massachusetts, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Massachusetts income tax is $77,800 for biological science teachers, postsecondary, from $105,050. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $71,879. ⚠️ 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 $134,120 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $64,180 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $105,050 |
| Top tenth earn over | $296,440 |
| This salary | $105,050 |
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 | $77,800 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $82,733 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$13,259 |
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 | $98,039 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$18,315 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 108 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of biological science teachers, postsecondary in Massachusetts earn under $105,050 and half over. The published range runs $64,180 at the tenth percentile to $296,440 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Massachusetts's $77,800, worked from $105,050. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 90 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $71,879 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 90.
- Figures are distribution medians for biological science teachers, postsecondary in Massachusetts, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $64,180 to $296,440; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Massachusetts take-home of $77,800, on $105,050 for work ranking 90 of 485 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 90 of 485 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $71,879, worked from $105,050, 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 90 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $134,120, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $64,180 at the bottom tenth to $296,440 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $71,879 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Massachusetts adds its own income tax on top — which is why $77,800 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 $134,120. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($64,180) and the ninetieth ($296,440) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $71,879 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 $77,800 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.