Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,510
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$9,280
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,579
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
$47,790
Kept after tax
$38,510
Worth in national money
$35,579
State rank
3
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Massachusetts pays this job a middle wage of $47,790, ranking 3 of 51 states and sitting about 27.61% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Massachusetts, this one sits low: 383 of 485 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $47,790 the take-home is $38,510. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $35,579 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $48,750, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Massachusetts's median for cooks, institution and cafeteria is $47,790, about 27.61% above the national figure and 3 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.
- Cooks, institution and cafeteria occupies position 383 of 485 in Massachusetts's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Massachusetts income tax is $38,510 for cooks, institution and cafeteria, from $47,790. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $35,579. ⚠️ 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 $48,750 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,250 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,790 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,090 |
| This salary | $47,790 |
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 | $38,510 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,579 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,180 |
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 | $45,214 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,474 |
| 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 $47,790. The published range is $39,250 up to $58,090, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $38,510 take-home in Massachusetts comes from $47,790. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 383 of 485.
- Two cautions on $35,579, the adjusted value of that $47,790 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 383 of 485 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for cooks, institution and cafeteria in Massachusetts the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $39,250 to $58,090. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $38,510, from $47,790, assumes a single Massachusetts filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 383 of 485 locally, and the state ranks 3 of 51 for it.
- This $35,579 adjusted figure, worked from $47,790, 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 383 of 485 in the state. The occupation ranks 383 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $39,250 and the top tenth $58,090, 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 $35,579 of national purchasing power.
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 $38,510 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($39,250 to $58,090) 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 $35,579 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 $38,510 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.