Fast Food and Counter Workers in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,513
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$6,337
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$27,267
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
$35,850
Kept after tax
$29,513
Worth in national money
$27,267
State rank
6
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Massachusetts pays fast food and counter workers a middle wage of $35,850, ranking 6 of 51 states and sitting about 14.9% above the national middle.
- Within Massachusetts this is lower-paid work. Of 485 occupations the state publishes figures for, fast food and counter workers ranks 477. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Massachusetts is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $35,850 the take-home is $29,513; in national-average money that behaves like $27,267. The average comes to $35,880, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Massachusetts's median for fast food and counter workers is $35,850, about 14.9% above the national figure and 6 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, fast food and counter workers ranks 477 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.
- Take-home for fast food and counter workers in Massachusetts, on $35,850, is $29,513; deflated by the state's price level, $27,267. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $35,880 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Fast Food and Counter Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,290 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,850 |
| Top tenth earn over | $38,700 |
| This salary | $35,850 |
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 | $29,513 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,985 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,620 |
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 | $34,017 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,587 |
| 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 $35,850. The published range is $31,290 up to $38,700, 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 $29,513, worked from $35,850. 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 477 of 485.
- One number stands for prices across all of Massachusetts, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $27,267, the adjusted value of that $35,850 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 477 of 485 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for fast food and counter workers in Massachusetts the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,290 to $38,700. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Massachusetts take-home of $29,513, on $35,850 for work ranking 477 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 477 of 485 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Massachusetts, so $27,267 — the adjusted value of that $35,850 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 477 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $31,290 at the tenth percentile, $38,700 at the ninetieth.
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 $27,267 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 $29,513 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,290 to $38,700) 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 $27,267 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 $29,513 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.