Operations Research Analysts in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$72,213
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$24,287
25.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$66,717
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
$96,500
Kept after tax
$72,213
Worth in national money
$66,717
State rank
17
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Massachusetts pays operations research analysts around $96,500 at the midpoint, 17 of 47 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 485 occupations Massachusetts reports figures for, this is number 131.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $96,500 the take-home is $72,213. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $66,717 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $104,450, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For operations research analysts the Massachusetts median is $96,500, ranking 17 of 47 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In Massachusetts's occupational distribution, operations research analysts sits at 131 of 485 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Massachusetts income tax is $72,213 for operations research analysts, from $96,500. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $66,717. ⚠️ 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 $104,450 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Operations Research Analysts
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $71,550 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $96,500 |
| Top tenth earn over | $146,000 |
| This salary | $96,500 |
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 | $72,213 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $76,718 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$12,231 |
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 | $90,096 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$16,895 |
| 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 operations research analysts in Massachusetts earn under $96,500 and half over. The published range runs $71,550 at the tenth percentile to $146,000 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Massachusetts's $72,213, worked from $96,500. 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 131 of 485.
- Two cautions on $66,717, the adjusted value of that $96,500 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 131 of 485 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for operations research analysts in Massachusetts, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $71,550 to $146,000; 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.
- The Massachusetts take-home of $72,213, on $96,500 for work ranking 131 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 131 of 485 in the state.
- This $66,717 adjusted figure, worked from $96,500, 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 131 of 485 in the state. The occupation ranks 131 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 $104,450, 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 $71,550 at the bottom tenth to $146,000 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $66,717 of national purchasing power.
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 $72,213 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release 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 $104,450. 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 ($71,550) and the ninetieth ($146,000) 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 $66,717 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 $72,213 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.