Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,116
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$6,534
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$27,824
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
$36,650
Kept after tax
$30,116
Worth in national money
$27,824
State rank
6
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Massachusetts's middle earner gets $36,650, putting the state 6 of 51 — about 9.14% ahead of the national figure.
- Within Massachusetts this is lower-paid work. Of 485 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 472. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $36,650 the take-home is $30,116. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $27,824 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $37,930, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers, Massachusetts sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $36,650, ranking 6 of 51 and running about 9.14% 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.
- Against every occupation Massachusetts reports, lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers ranks 472 of 485, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Massachusetts income tax is $30,116 for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers, from $36,650. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $27,824. ⚠️ 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 $37,930 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $32,830 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,650 |
| Top tenth earn over | $42,290 |
| This salary | $36,650 |
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 | $30,116 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,628 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,724 |
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 | $34,768 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,713 |
| 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 $36,650. The published range is $32,830 up to $42,290, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Massachusetts the take-home figure of $30,116, from $36,650, 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 472 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 $27,824 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 472.
- Reported values are medians; for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers in Massachusetts the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $32,830 to $42,290. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Massachusetts is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $30,116 from $36,650. 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 472 of 485 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $27,824, worked from $36,650, 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 472 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 $37,930, 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?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $32,830 and the top tenth $42,290, 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 $27,824 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 $30,116 of this wage survives to your account.
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 $37,930. 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 ($32,830 to $42,290) 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 $27,824 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 $30,116 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.