Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$92,807
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$35,403
27.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$85,743
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
$128,210
Kept after tax
$92,807
Worth in national money
$85,743
State rank
3
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Massachusetts pays this job a middle wage of $128,210, ranking 3 of 46 states and sitting about 23.98% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 485 occupations Massachusetts reports, this job comes in at 44 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $128,210, tax leaves $92,807 — and because Massachusetts is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $85,743 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $133,550, since top earners drag the number up.
- Massachusetts's median for medical scientists, except epidemiologists is $128,210, about 23.98% above the national figure and 3 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.
- Medical scientists, except epidemiologists ranks 44 of 485 occupations by median in Massachusetts, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After tax, $92,807 remains from the Massachusetts median of $128,210 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $85,743 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $133,550 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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: Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $77,790 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $128,210 |
| Top tenth earn over | $208,490 |
| This salary | $128,210 |
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 | $92,807 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $98,898 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$16,029 |
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 | $119,370 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$22,323 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 108 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $128,210 as a midpoint for Massachusetts, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $77,790 and the ninetieth is $208,490 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Massachusetts's $92,807, worked from $128,210. 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 44 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $85,743 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 44.
- The Massachusetts median of $128,210 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $77,790 to $208,490. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Massachusetts take-home of $92,807, on $128,210 for work ranking 44 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 44 of 485 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $85,743, worked from $128,210, 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 44 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 $133,550, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $77,790 at the bottom tenth to $208,490 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $85,743 — 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 $92,807.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $133,550. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($77,790) and the ninetieth ($208,490) 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 $85,743 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 $92,807 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.