Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$70,501
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$23,379
24.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,135
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
$93,880
Kept after tax
$70,501
Worth in national money
$65,135
State rank
6
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Massachusetts is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $93,880, which ranks 6 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 47.15% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 485 occupations Massachusetts reports figures for, this is number 141.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $93,880 the take-home is $70,501. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $65,135 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $90,410, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Massachusetts ranks 6 of 51 states publishing a median for plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, at $93,880 — about 47.15% 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.
- In Massachusetts's occupational distribution, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters sits at 141 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 $70,501 for plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, from $93,880. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $65,135. ⚠️ 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 $90,410 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $52,010 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $93,880 |
| Top tenth earn over | $135,080 |
| This salary | $93,880 |
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 | $70,501 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $74,875 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$11,917 |
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 | $87,663 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$16,460 |
| 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 plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters in Massachusetts earn under $93,880 and half over. The published range runs $52,010 at the tenth percentile to $135,080 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 $70,501, worked from $93,880. 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 141 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $65,135 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 141.
- Figures are distribution medians for plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters in Massachusetts, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $52,010 to $135,080; 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 $70,501, on $93,880 for work ranking 141 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 141 of 485 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $65,135, worked from $93,880, 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 141 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 $90,410, 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?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $52,010, the highest tenth $135,080, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $65,135 rather than its face figure.
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, $70,501 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.
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 $90,410. 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 ($52,010) and the ninetieth ($135,080) 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 $65,135 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 $70,501 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.