Opticians, Dispensing in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$53,072
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$14,138
21.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$49,032
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
$67,210
Kept after tax
$53,072
Worth in national money
$49,032
State rank
4
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Massachusetts is one of the better-paying states for opticians, dispensing. The middle earner takes $67,210, which ranks 4 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 42.21% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Opticians, dispensing ranks 249 among 485 occupations Massachusetts publishes pay for.
- Massachusetts is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $67,210 the take-home is $53,072; in national-average money that behaves like $49,032. The average comes to $67,520, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Massachusetts ranks 4 of 51 states publishing a median for opticians, dispensing, at $67,210 — about 42.21% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Position 249 of 485 in Massachusetts places opticians, dispensing in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Take-home for opticians, dispensing in Massachusetts, on $67,210, is $53,072; deflated by the state's price level, $49,032. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $67,520 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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: Opticians, Dispensing
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,850 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $67,210 |
| Top tenth earn over | $83,550 |
| This salary | $67,210 |
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 | $53,072 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $56,112 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,711 |
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 | $63,338 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$10,623 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 108 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Massachusetts earn less than $67,210. The published range is $48,850 up to $83,550, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Massachusetts the take-home figure of $53,072, from $67,210, 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 249 of 485 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $49,032 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 249.
- Reported values are medians; for opticians, dispensing in Massachusetts the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $48,850 to $83,550. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Massachusetts is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $53,072 from $67,210. 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 249 of 485 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $49,032, worked from $67,210, 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 249 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $48,850 at the tenth percentile, $83,550 at the ninetieth.
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 $49,032 of national purchasing power.
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, $53,072 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($48,850 to $83,550) 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 $49,032 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 $53,072 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.