Receptionists and Information Clerks in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,556
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$8,314
19.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,850
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
$43,870
Kept after tax
$35,556
Worth in national money
$32,850
State rank
5
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 $43,870, which ranks 5 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 15.42% above the national middle.
- Within Massachusetts this is lower-paid work. Of 485 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 423. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $43,870 the take-home is $35,556. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $32,850 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $43,950, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Massachusetts ranks 5 of 51 states publishing a median for receptionists and information clerks, at $43,870 — about 15.42% 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.
- Against every occupation Massachusetts reports, receptionists and information clerks ranks 423 of 485, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Massachusetts income tax is $35,556 for receptionists and information clerks, from $43,870. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $32,850. ⚠️ 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 $43,950 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Receptionists and Information Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,790 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,870 |
| Top tenth earn over | $54,270 |
| This salary | $43,870 |
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 | $35,556 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,430 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,668 |
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 | $41,538 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,855 |
| 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 receptionists and information clerks in Massachusetts earn under $43,870 and half over. The published range runs $35,790 at the tenth percentile to $54,270 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Massachusetts the take-home figure of $35,556, from $43,870, 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 423 of 485 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $32,850, the adjusted value of that $43,870 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 423 of 485 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for receptionists and information clerks in Massachusetts, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,790 to $54,270; 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.
- Take-home for Massachusetts is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $35,556 from $43,870. 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 423 of 485 locally.
- This $32,850 adjusted figure, worked from $43,870, 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 423 of 485 in the state. The occupation ranks 423 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $35,790 and the top tenth $54,270, so most people doing this work in Massachusetts sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Massachusetts run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $32,850 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 $35,556.
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 ($35,790 to $54,270) 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 $32,850 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 $35,556 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.