Mechanical Engineers in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$87,113
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$32,187
27.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$80,482
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
$119,300
Kept after tax
$87,113
Worth in national money
$80,482
State rank
9
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Massachusetts pays mechanical engineers a middle wage of $119,300, ranking 9 of 51 states and sitting about 14.59% above the national middle.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Massachusetts. It ranks 57 out of 485 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $119,300 the take-home is $87,113. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $80,482 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $121,430, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Massachusetts's median for mechanical engineers is $119,300, about 14.59% above the national figure and 9 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Within Massachusetts, mechanical engineers ranks 57 of 485 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Massachusetts income tax is $87,113 for mechanical engineers, from $119,300. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $80,482. ⚠️ 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 $121,430 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Mechanical Engineers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $79,570 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $119,300 |
| Top tenth earn over | $166,480 |
| This salary | $119,300 |
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 | $87,113 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $92,758 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$14,972 |
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 | $111,276 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$20,681 |
| 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 mechanical engineers in Massachusetts earn under $119,300 and half over. The published range runs $79,570 at the tenth percentile to $166,480 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $87,113 take-home in Massachusetts comes from $119,300. 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 57 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $80,482 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 57.
- Figures are distribution medians for mechanical engineers in Massachusetts, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $79,570 to $166,480; 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.
- Retained pay of $87,113, from $119,300, 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 57 of 485 locally, and the state ranks 9 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $80,482, worked from $119,300, 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 57 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $79,570, the highest tenth $166,480, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $80,482 of national purchasing power.
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 $87,113.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($79,570) and the ninetieth ($166,480) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $80,482 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 $87,113 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.