Painters, Construction and Maintenance in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$45,834
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$11,676
20.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,345
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
$57,510
Kept after tax
$45,834
Worth in national money
$42,345
State rank
13
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for painters, construction and maintenance is strong here. Massachusetts's middle earner gets $57,510, putting the state 13 of 51 — about 16.42% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 485 occupations Massachusetts reports figures for, this is number 320.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $57,510 the take-home is $45,834. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $42,345 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $64,080, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For painters, construction and maintenance, Massachusetts sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $57,510, ranking 13 of 51 and running about 16.42% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- In Massachusetts's occupational distribution, painters, construction and maintenance sits at 320 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 $45,834 for painters, construction and maintenance, from $57,510. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $42,345. ⚠️ 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 $64,080 sits above the median, the right skew typical of 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: Painters, Construction and Maintenance
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $43,520 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,510 |
| Top tenth earn over | $109,850 |
| This salary | $57,510 |
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 | $45,834 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,389 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,451 |
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 | $54,330 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,011 |
| 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 $57,510. The published range is $43,520 up to $109,850, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $45,834 take-home in Massachusetts comes from $57,510. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 320 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $42,345 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 320.
- Reported values are medians; for painters, construction and maintenance in Massachusetts the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $43,520 to $109,850. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $45,834, from $57,510, assumes a single Massachusetts filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 320 of 485 locally, and the state ranks 13 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $42,345, worked from $57,510, 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 320 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $64,080 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $43,520 at the bottom tenth to $109,850 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 $42,345 of national purchasing power.
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 $45,834.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 $64,080. 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 ($43,520) and the ninetieth ($109,850) 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 $42,345 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 $45,834 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.