Highway Maintenance Workers in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,840
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$12,660
20.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,123
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
$61,500
Kept after tax
$48,840
Worth in national money
$45,123
State rank
6
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Massachusetts is one of the better-paying states for highway maintenance workers. The middle earner takes $61,500, which ranks 6 of 49 states with published figures. That is about 22.36% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 485 occupations Massachusetts reports figures for, this is number 282.
- Massachusetts is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $61,500 the take-home is $48,840; in national-average money that behaves like $45,123. The average comes to $61,800, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Massachusetts ranks 6 of 49 states publishing a median for highway maintenance workers, at $61,500 — about 22.36% 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, highway maintenance workers sits at 282 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.
- Take-home for highway maintenance workers in Massachusetts, on $61,500, is $48,840; deflated by the state's price level, $45,123. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $61,800 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Highway Maintenance Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,460 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,500 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,860 |
| This salary | $61,500 |
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 | $48,840 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,595 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,972 |
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 | $58,071 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,642 |
| 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 $61,500. The published range is $46,460 up to $79,860, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Massachusetts's $48,840, worked from $61,500. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 282 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $45,123 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 282.
- Reported values are medians; for highway maintenance workers in Massachusetts the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $46,460 to $79,860. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Massachusetts take-home of $48,840, on $61,500 for work ranking 282 of 485 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 282 of 485 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $45,123, worked from $61,500, 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 282 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $46,460 and the top tenth $79,860, so most people doing this work in Massachusetts sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $45,123 — 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, $48,840 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($46,460 to $79,860) 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 $45,123 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 $48,840 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.