Child, Family, and School Social Workers in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$58,535
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$17,035
22.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,080
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
$75,570
Kept after tax
$58,535
Worth in national money
$54,080
State rank
4
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Massachusetts is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $75,570, which ranks 4 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 26.9% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 217 among 485 occupations Massachusetts publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $75,570 the take-home is $58,535. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $54,080 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $77,060, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Massachusetts ranks 4 of 51 states publishing a median for child, family, and school social workers, at $75,570 — about 26.9% 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.
- Position 217 of 485 in Massachusetts places child, family, and school social workers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Massachusetts income tax is $58,535 for child, family, and school social workers, from $75,570. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $54,080. ⚠️ 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 $77,060 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Child, Family, and School Social Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,140 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $75,570 |
| Top tenth earn over | $104,060 |
| This salary | $75,570 |
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 | $58,535 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $61,993 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$9,716 |
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 | $70,654 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$12,879 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 108 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Massachusetts earn less than $75,570. The published range is $48,140 up to $104,060, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Massachusetts the take-home figure of $58,535, from $75,570, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 217 of 485 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Massachusetts, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $54,080, the adjusted value of that $75,570 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 217 of 485 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for child, family, and school social workers in Massachusetts the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $48,140 to $104,060. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Massachusetts is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $58,535 from $75,570. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 217 of 485 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Massachusetts, so $54,080 — the adjusted value of that $75,570 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 217 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $48,140 and the top tenth $104,060 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $54,080 of national purchasing power.
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 $58,535.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($48,140) and the ninetieth ($104,060) 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 $54,080 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 $58,535 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.