Food Preparation Workers in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,811
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$7,089
18.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$29,390
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
$38,900
Kept after tax
$31,811
Worth in national money
$29,390
State rank
5
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Massachusetts is one of the better-paying states for food preparation workers. The middle earner takes $38,900, which ranks 5 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 10.14% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Massachusetts, this one sits low: 450 of 485 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $38,900, tax leaves $31,811 — and because Massachusetts is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $29,390 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $41,030, since top earners drag the number up.
- Massachusetts ranks 5 of 51 states publishing a median for food preparation workers, at $38,900 — about 10.14% 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.
- Food preparation workers occupies position 450 of 485 in Massachusetts's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After tax, $31,811 remains from the Massachusetts median of $38,900 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $29,390 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $41,030 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Food Preparation Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,280 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,900 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,420 |
| This salary | $38,900 |
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 | $31,811 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,436 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,018 |
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 | $36,878 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,069 |
| 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 food preparation workers in Massachusetts earn under $38,900 and half over. The published range runs $34,280 at the tenth percentile to $48,420 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Massachusetts the take-home figure of $31,811, from $38,900, 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 450 of 485 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $29,390, the adjusted value of that $38,900 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Massachusetts. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 450 of 485 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for food preparation workers in Massachusetts, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $34,280 to $48,420; 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.
- Take-home for Massachusetts is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $31,811 from $38,900. 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 450 of 485 locally.
- This $29,390 adjusted figure, worked from $38,900, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 450 of 485 in the state. The occupation ranks 450 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 $41,030, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $34,280 at the bottom tenth to $48,420 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $29,390 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Massachusetts then takes its own share, leaving $31,811.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 $41,030. 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 ($34,280 to $48,420) 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 $29,390 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 $31,811 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.