Occupational Health and Safety Specialists in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$77,094
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$26,876
25.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$71,227
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
$103,970
Kept after tax
$77,094
Worth in national money
$71,227
State rank
2
of 51 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 $103,970, ranking 2 of 51 states and sitting about 15.33% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 485 occupations Massachusetts reports, this job comes in at 95 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $103,970 the take-home is $77,094. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $71,227 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $106,540, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Massachusetts's median for occupational health and safety specialists is $103,970, about 15.33% above the national figure and 2 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.
- Occupational health and safety specialists ranks 95 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Massachusetts income tax is $77,094 for occupational health and safety specialists, from $103,970. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $71,227. ⚠️ 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 $106,540 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Occupational Health and Safety Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $68,490 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $103,970 |
| Top tenth earn over | $153,770 |
| This salary | $103,970 |
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 | $77,094 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $81,973 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$13,129 |
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 | $97,035 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$18,135 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 108 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $103,970 as a midpoint for Massachusetts, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $68,490 and the ninetieth is $153,770 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Massachusetts the take-home figure of $77,094, from $103,970, 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 95 of 485 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $71,227, the adjusted value of that $103,970 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Massachusetts. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 95 of 485 locally.
- The Massachusetts median of $103,970 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $68,490 to $153,770. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Massachusetts is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $77,094 from $103,970. 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 95 of 485 locally.
- This $71,227 adjusted figure, worked from $103,970, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 95 of 485 in the state. The occupation ranks 95 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $68,490 at the bottom tenth to $153,770 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 $71,227 — 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, $77,094 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($68,490) and the ninetieth ($153,770) 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 $71,227 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 $77,094 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.