Helpers--Electricians in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,924
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$9,416
19.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,962
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
$48,340
Kept after tax
$38,924
Worth in national money
$35,962
State rank
7
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for helpers--electricians is strong here. Massachusetts's middle earner gets $48,340, putting the state 7 of 47 — about 13.29% ahead of the national figure.
- Measured against other jobs in Massachusetts, this one sits low: 376 of 485 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Massachusetts is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $48,340 the take-home is $38,924; in national-average money that behaves like $35,962. The average comes to $49,700, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For helpers--electricians, Massachusetts sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $48,340, ranking 7 of 47 and running about 13.29% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Helpers--electricians occupies position 376 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 helpers--electricians in Massachusetts, on $48,340, is $38,924; deflated by the state's price level, $35,962. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $49,700 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Helpers--Electricians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $40,440 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,340 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,060 |
| This salary | $48,340 |
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 | $38,924 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,021 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,252 |
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 | $45,730 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,561 |
| 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 $48,340. The published range is $40,440 up to $58,060, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $38,924 take-home in Massachusetts comes from $48,340. 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 376 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $35,962 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 376.
- Reported values are medians; for helpers--electricians in Massachusetts the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $40,440 to $58,060. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $38,924, from $48,340, 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 376 of 485 locally, and the state ranks 7 of 47 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $35,962, worked from $48,340, 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 376 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $40,440 at the tenth percentile, $58,060 at the ninetieth.
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 $35,962 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 $38,924 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 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 ($40,440 to $58,060) 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 $35,962 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 $38,924 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.