Residential Advisors in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,811
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$9,379
19.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,857
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
$48,190
Kept after tax
$38,811
Worth in national money
$35,857
State rank
6
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for residential advisors is strong here. Massachusetts's middle earner gets $48,190, putting the state 6 of 51 — about 14.09% ahead of the national figure.
- Measured against other jobs in Massachusetts, this one sits low: 379 of 485 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $48,190 the take-home is $38,811. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $35,857 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $50,910, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For residential advisors, Massachusetts sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $48,190, ranking 6 of 51 and running about 14.09% 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.
- Residential advisors occupies position 379 of 485 in Massachusetts's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Massachusetts income tax is $38,811 for residential advisors, from $48,190. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $35,857. ⚠️ 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 $50,910 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: Residential Advisors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,850 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,190 |
| Top tenth earn over | $65,980 |
| This salary | $48,190 |
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 | $38,811 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,901 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,232 |
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 | $45,590 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,538 |
| 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 residential advisors in Massachusetts earn under $48,190 and half over. The published range runs $37,850 at the tenth percentile to $65,980 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Massachusetts the take-home figure of $38,811, from $48,190, 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 379 of 485 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $35,857, the adjusted value of that $48,190 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 379 of 485 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for residential advisors in Massachusetts, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,850 to $65,980; 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 $38,811 from $48,190. 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 379 of 485 locally.
- This $35,857 adjusted figure, worked from $48,190, 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 379 of 485 in the state. The occupation ranks 379 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $50,910, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $37,850 and the top tenth $65,980, so most people doing this work in Massachusetts sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $35,857 rather than its face figure.
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 $38,811.
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 $50,910. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,850 to $65,980) 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 $35,857 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 $38,811 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.