Data Scientists in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$95,050
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$36,700
27.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$87,815
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
$131,750
Kept after tax
$95,050
Worth in national money
$87,815
State rank
5
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Massachusetts is one of the better-paying states for data scientists. The middle earner takes $131,750, which ranks 5 of 49 states with published figures. That is about 9.58% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 485 occupations Massachusetts reports, data scientists comes in at 35 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $131,750, tax leaves $95,050 — and because Massachusetts is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $87,815 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $136,460, since top earners drag the number up.
- Massachusetts ranks 5 of 49 states publishing a median for data scientists, at $131,750 — about 9.58% 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.
- Data scientists ranks 35 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.
- After tax, $95,050 remains from the Massachusetts median of $131,750 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $87,815 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $136,460 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Data Scientists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $81,030 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $131,750 |
| Top tenth earn over | $206,220 |
| This salary | $131,750 |
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 | $95,050 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $101,317 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$16,447 |
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 | $122,580 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$23,001 |
| 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 $131,750. The published range is $81,030 up to $206,220, 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 $95,050, worked from $131,750. 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 35 of 485.
- One number stands for prices across all of Massachusetts, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $87,815, the adjusted value of that $131,750 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 35 of 485 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for data scientists in Massachusetts the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $81,030 to $206,220. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Massachusetts take-home of $95,050, on $131,750 for work ranking 35 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 35 of 485 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Massachusetts, so $87,815 — the adjusted value of that $131,750 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 35 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 $136,460, 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 $81,030 at the bottom tenth to $206,220 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 $87,815 — 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, $95,050 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 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 $136,460. 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 ($81,030) and the ninetieth ($206,220) 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 $87,815 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 $95,050 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.