First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$72,278
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$24,322
25.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$66,777
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
$96,600
Kept after tax
$72,278
Worth in national money
$66,777
State rank
15
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Massachusetts is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $96,600, which ranks 15 of 50 states with published figures. That is about 3.28% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 485 occupations Massachusetts reports figures for, this is number 130.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $96,600 the take-home is $72,278. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $66,777 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $100,680, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Massachusetts ranks 15 of 50 states publishing a median for first-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers, at $96,600 — about 3.28% 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.
- In Massachusetts's occupational distribution, first-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers sits at 130 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 $72,278 for first-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers, from $96,600. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $66,777. ⚠️ 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 $100,680 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $75,550 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $96,600 |
| Top tenth earn over | $140,010 |
| This salary | $96,600 |
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 | $72,278 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $76,788 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$12,243 |
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 | $90,189 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$16,912 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 108 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $96,600 as a midpoint for Massachusetts, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $75,550 and the ninetieth is $140,010 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Massachusetts the take-home figure of $72,278, from $96,600, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 130 of 485 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Massachusetts, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $66,777, the adjusted value of that $96,600 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 130 of 485 in the state.
- The Massachusetts median of $96,600 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $75,550 to $140,010. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Massachusetts is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $72,278 from $96,600. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 130 of 485 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Massachusetts, so $66,777 — the adjusted value of that $96,600 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 130 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 $100,680, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $75,550 at the bottom tenth to $140,010 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $66,777 rather than its face figure.
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 $72,278 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 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 $100,680. 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 ($75,550 to $140,010) 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 $66,777 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 $72,278 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.