Occupational Therapists in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$75,108
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$25,822
25.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$69,391
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
$100,930
Kept after tax
$75,108
Worth in national money
$69,391
State rank
19
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Massachusetts is 19 of 51 states for occupational therapists, with a middle wage of $100,930. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Massachusetts this is well-paid work. Of 485 occupations with published figures in the state, occupational therapists ranks 107 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $100,930 the take-home is $75,108. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $69,391 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $99,730, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Massachusetts ranks 19 of 51 for occupational therapists at $100,930. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Ranked against every occupation Massachusetts publishes a median for, occupational therapists sits 107 of 485 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Massachusetts income tax is $75,108 for occupational therapists, from $100,930. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $69,391. ⚠️ 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 $99,730 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in 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: Occupational Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $73,140 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $100,930 |
| Top tenth earn over | $127,380 |
| This salary | $100,930 |
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 | $75,108 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $79,834 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$12,764 |
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 | $94,211 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$17,631 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 108 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $100,930 as a midpoint for Massachusetts, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $73,140 and the ninetieth is $127,380 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Massachusetts the take-home figure of $75,108, from $100,930, 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 107 of 485 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $69,391, the adjusted value of that $100,930 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 107 of 485 locally.
- The Massachusetts median of $100,930 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $73,140 to $127,380. 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 $75,108 from $100,930. 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 107 of 485 locally.
- This $69,391 adjusted figure, worked from $100,930, 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 107 of 485 in the state. The occupation ranks 107 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $73,140 at the bottom tenth to $127,380 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $69,391 rather than its face figure.
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 $75,108.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($73,140 to $127,380) 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 $69,391 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 $75,108 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.