First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$77,323
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$26,997
25.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$71,438
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
$104,320
Kept after tax
$77,323
Worth in national money
$71,438
State rank
20
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Massachusetts sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $104,320, ranking 20 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Massachusetts. It ranks 93 out of 485 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $104,320 the take-home is $77,323. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $71,438 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $112,480, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Massachusetts occupies the middle band for first-line supervisors of police and detectives: a median of $104,320, ranking 20 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Within Massachusetts, first-line supervisors of police and detectives ranks 93 of 485 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Massachusetts income tax is $77,323 for first-line supervisors of police and detectives, from $104,320. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $71,438. ⚠️ 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 $112,480 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 Police and Detectives
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $77,110 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $104,320 |
| Top tenth earn over | $159,680 |
| This salary | $104,320 |
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 | $77,323 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $82,219 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$13,171 |
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 | $97,361 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$18,194 |
| 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 first-line supervisors of police and detectives in Massachusetts earn under $104,320 and half over. The published range runs $77,110 at the tenth percentile to $159,680 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $77,323 take-home in Massachusetts comes from $104,320. 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 93 of 485.
- One number stands for prices across all of Massachusetts, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $71,438, the adjusted value of that $104,320 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 93 of 485 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for first-line supervisors of police and detectives in Massachusetts, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $77,110 to $159,680; 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 $77,323, from $104,320, 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 93 of 485 locally, and the state ranks 20 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Massachusetts, so $71,438 — the adjusted value of that $104,320 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 93 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $112,480, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $77,110, the highest tenth $159,680, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $71,438 — 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, $77,323 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $112,480. 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 ($77,110) and the ninetieth ($159,680) 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 $71,438 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 $77,323 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.