Postmasters and Mail Superintendents in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$72,455
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$24,415
25.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$66,940
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
$96,870
Kept after tax
$72,455
Worth in national money
$66,940
State rank
21
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Massachusetts sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $96,870, ranking 21 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 127 among 485 occupations Massachusetts publishes pay for.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $96,870, tax leaves $72,455 — and because Massachusetts is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $66,940 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $99,250, since top earners drag the number up.
- Massachusetts occupies the middle band for postmasters and mail superintendents: a median of $96,870, ranking 21 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Position 127 of 485 in Massachusetts places postmasters and mail superintendents 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.
- After tax, $72,455 remains from the Massachusetts median of $96,870 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $66,940 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $99,250 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Postmasters and Mail Superintendents
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $85,720 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $96,870 |
| Top tenth earn over | $114,730 |
| This salary | $96,870 |
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 | $72,455 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $76,978 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$12,276 |
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 | $90,440 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$16,957 |
| 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 postmasters and mail superintendents in Massachusetts earn under $96,870 and half over. The published range runs $85,720 at the tenth percentile to $114,730 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 $72,455, worked from $96,870. 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 127 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $66,940 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 127.
- Figures are distribution medians for postmasters and mail superintendents in Massachusetts, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $85,720 to $114,730; 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 $72,455, on $96,870 for work ranking 127 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 127 of 485 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $66,940, worked from $96,870, 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 127 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $85,720 at the bottom tenth to $114,730 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $66,940 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, $72,455 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($85,720 to $114,730) 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 $66,940 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 $72,455 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.