Construction Laborers in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,264
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$13,126
20.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,439
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
$63,390
Kept after tax
$50,264
Worth in national money
$46,439
State rank
3
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Massachusetts is one of the better-paying states for construction laborers. The middle earner takes $63,390, which ranks 3 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 34.53% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 485 occupations Massachusetts reports figures for, this is number 264.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $63,390, tax leaves $50,264 — and because Massachusetts is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $46,439 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $70,830, since top earners drag the number up.
- Massachusetts ranks 3 of 51 states publishing a median for construction laborers, at $63,390 — about 34.53% 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.
- In Massachusetts's occupational distribution, construction laborers sits at 264 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, $50,264 remains from the Massachusetts median of $63,390 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $46,439 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $70,830 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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: Construction Laborers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,170 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $63,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $98,880 |
| This salary | $63,390 |
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 | $50,264 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,114 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,219 |
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 | $59,844 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,940 |
| 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 construction laborers in Massachusetts earn under $63,390 and half over. The published range runs $45,170 at the tenth percentile to $98,880 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Massachusetts the take-home figure of $50,264, from $63,390, 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 264 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 $46,439, the adjusted value of that $63,390 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 264 of 485 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for construction laborers in Massachusetts, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $45,170 to $98,880; 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.
- Take-home for Massachusetts is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $50,264 from $63,390. 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 264 of 485 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Massachusetts, so $46,439 — the adjusted value of that $63,390 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 264 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 $70,830, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $45,170 at the bottom tenth to $98,880 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 $46,439 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 $50,264.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 $70,830. 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 ($45,170) and the ninetieth ($98,880) 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 $46,439 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 $50,264 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.