Food Processing Workers, All Other in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,051
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$8,149
18.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,383
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
$43,200
Kept after tax
$35,051
Worth in national money
$32,383
State rank
11
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Massachusetts pays food processing workers, all other a middle wage of $43,200, ranking 11 of 46 states and sitting about 8.87% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Massachusetts, this one sits low: 430 of 485 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Massachusetts is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $43,200 the take-home is $35,051; in national-average money that behaves like $32,383. The average comes to $44,320, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Massachusetts's median for food processing workers, all other is $43,200, about 8.87% above the national figure and 11 of 46 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Food processing workers, all other occupies position 430 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.
- Take-home for food processing workers, all other in Massachusetts, on $43,200, is $35,051; deflated by the state's price level, $32,383. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $44,320 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Food Processing Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,300 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,200 |
| Top tenth earn over | $52,440 |
| This salary | $43,200 |
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 | $35,051 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,891 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,580 |
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 | $40,910 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,749 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 108 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $43,200 as a midpoint for Massachusetts, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $37,300 and the ninetieth is $52,440 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Massachusetts the take-home figure of $35,051, from $43,200, 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 430 of 485 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,383 uses one figure for the whole of Massachusetts. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 485 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 430.
- The Massachusetts median of $43,200 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $37,300 to $52,440. 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 $35,051 from $43,200. 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 430 of 485 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,383, worked from $43,200, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Massachusetts address, on work sitting at 430 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $37,300 at the tenth percentile, $52,440 at the ninetieth.
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 $32,383 — 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 $35,051.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 46 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,300 to $52,440) 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 $32,383 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 $35,051 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.