Clergy in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$56,326
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$15,864
22.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,039
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
$72,190
Kept after tax
$56,326
Worth in national money
$52,039
State rank
4
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Massachusetts pays clergy a middle wage of $72,190, ranking 4 of 50 states and sitting about 18.71% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 485 occupations Massachusetts reports figures for, this is number 231.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $72,190, tax leaves $56,326 — and because Massachusetts is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $52,039 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $73,510, since top earners drag the number up.
- Massachusetts's median for clergy is $72,190, about 18.71% above the national figure and 4 of 50 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In Massachusetts's occupational distribution, clergy sits at 231 of 485 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After tax, $56,326 remains from the Massachusetts median of $72,190 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $52,039 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $73,510 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Clergy
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,600 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $72,190 |
| Top tenth earn over | $98,650 |
| This salary | $72,190 |
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 | $56,326 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $59,616 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$9,310 |
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 | $67,514 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$11,967 |
| 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 clergy in Massachusetts earn under $72,190 and half over. The published range runs $51,600 at the tenth percentile to $98,650 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 $56,326, worked from $72,190. 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 231 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $52,039 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 231.
- Figures are distribution medians for clergy in Massachusetts, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $51,600 to $98,650; 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 $56,326, on $72,190 for work ranking 231 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 231 of 485 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $52,039, worked from $72,190, 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 231 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $51,600 at the bottom tenth to $98,650 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $52,039 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 $56,326 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($51,600 to $98,650) 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 $52,039 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 $56,326 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.