Cooks, Fast Food in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,035
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$6,835
18.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,673
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
$37,870
Kept after tax
$31,035
Worth in national money
$28,673
State rank
8
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Massachusetts pays cooks, fast food a middle wage of $37,870, ranking 8 of 51 states and sitting about 22.6% above the national middle.
- Within Massachusetts this is lower-paid work. Of 485 occupations the state publishes figures for, cooks, fast food ranks 457. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $37,870 the take-home is $31,035. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $28,673 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $40,080, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Massachusetts's median for cooks, fast food is $37,870, about 22.6% above the national figure and 8 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Against every occupation Massachusetts reports, cooks, fast food ranks 457 of 485, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Massachusetts income tax is $31,035 for cooks, fast food, from $37,870. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $28,673. ⚠️ 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 $40,080 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Cooks, Fast Food
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,590 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,870 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,140 |
| This salary | $37,870 |
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 | $31,035 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,609 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,884 |
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 | $35,912 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,906 |
| 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 $37,870. The published range is $35,590 up to $48,140, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Massachusetts's $31,035, worked from $37,870. 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 457 of 485.
- One number stands for prices across all of Massachusetts, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $28,673, the adjusted value of that $37,870 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 457 of 485 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for cooks, fast food in Massachusetts the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $35,590 to $48,140. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Massachusetts take-home of $31,035, on $37,870 for work ranking 457 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 457 of 485 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Massachusetts, so $28,673 — the adjusted value of that $37,870 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 457 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 $40,080, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $35,590 and the top tenth $48,140, so most people doing this work in Massachusetts sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $28,673 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 $31,035.
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 $40,080. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($35,590 to $48,140) 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 $28,673 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 $31,035 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.