Credit Counselors in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,151
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$13,089
20.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,334
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
$63,240
Kept after tax
$50,151
Worth in national money
$46,334
State rank
4
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for credit counselors is strong here. Massachusetts's middle earner gets $63,240, putting the state 4 of 46 — about 21.08% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 485 occupations Massachusetts reports figures for, this is number 265.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $63,240 the take-home is $50,151. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $46,334 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $67,020, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For credit counselors, Massachusetts sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $63,240, ranking 4 of 46 and running about 21.08% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- In Massachusetts's occupational distribution, credit counselors sits at 265 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Massachusetts income tax is $50,151 for credit counselors, from $63,240. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $46,334. ⚠️ 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 $67,020 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Credit Counselors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,730 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $63,240 |
| Top tenth earn over | $94,110 |
| This salary | $63,240 |
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 | $50,151 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $52,993 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,200 |
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 | $59,703 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,917 |
| 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 credit counselors in Massachusetts earn under $63,240 and half over. The published range runs $44,730 at the tenth percentile to $94,110 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $50,151 take-home in Massachusetts comes from $63,240. 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 265 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $46,334 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 265.
- Figures are distribution medians for credit counselors in Massachusetts, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $44,730 to $94,110; 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.
- Retained pay of $50,151, from $63,240, 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 265 of 485 locally, and the state ranks 4 of 46 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $46,334, worked from $63,240, 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 265 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $67,020 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $44,730 at the bottom tenth to $94,110 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $46,334 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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, $50,151 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $67,020. 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 ($44,730) and the ninetieth ($94,110) 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 $46,334 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 $50,151 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.