Computer Programmers in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$92,921
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$35,469
27.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$85,849
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
$128,390
Kept after tax
$92,921
Worth in national money
$85,849
State rank
2
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Massachusetts pays computer programmers a middle wage of $128,390, ranking 2 of 46 states and sitting about 27.89% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 485 occupations Massachusetts reports, computer programmers comes in at 42 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $128,390 the take-home is $92,921. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $85,849 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $127,520, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Massachusetts's median for computer programmers is $128,390, about 27.89% above the national figure and 2 of 46 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Computer programmers ranks 42 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 $92,921 for computer programmers, from $128,390. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $85,849. ⚠️ 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 $127,520 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Computer Programmers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $77,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $128,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $168,310 |
| This salary | $128,390 |
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 | $92,921 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $99,021 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$16,050 |
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 | $119,532 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$22,358 |
| 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 $128,390. The published range is $77,060 up to $168,310, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Massachusetts the take-home figure of $92,921, from $128,390, 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 42 of 485 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $85,849, the adjusted value of that $128,390 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Massachusetts. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 42 of 485 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for computer programmers in Massachusetts the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $77,060 to $168,310. 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 $92,921 from $128,390. 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 42 of 485 locally.
- This $85,849 adjusted figure, worked from $128,390, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 42 of 485 in the state. The occupation ranks 42 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $77,060 and the top tenth $168,310, so most people doing this work in Massachusetts sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $85,849 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Massachusetts's own levy, $92,921 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 46 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($77,060 to $168,310) 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 $85,849 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 $92,921 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.