School Psychologists in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$73,631
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$25,039
25.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$68,027
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
$98,670
Kept after tax
$73,631
Worth in national money
$68,027
State rank
11
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Massachusetts is one of the better-paying states for school psychologists. The middle earner takes $98,670, which ranks 11 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 2.79% above the national middle.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Massachusetts. It ranks 121 out of 485 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $98,670 the take-home is $73,631. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $68,027 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $100,640, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Massachusetts ranks 11 of 51 states publishing a median for school psychologists, at $98,670 — about 2.79% 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.
- Within Massachusetts, school psychologists ranks 121 of 485 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Massachusetts income tax is $73,631 for school psychologists, from $98,670. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $68,027. ⚠️ 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 $100,640 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: School Psychologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $65,990 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $98,670 |
| Top tenth earn over | $135,280 |
| This salary | $98,670 |
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 | $73,631 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $78,244 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$12,492 |
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 | $92,112 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$17,256 |
| 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 school psychologists in Massachusetts earn under $98,670 and half over. The published range runs $65,990 at the tenth percentile to $135,280 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Massachusetts the take-home figure of $73,631, from $98,670, 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 121 of 485 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Massachusetts, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $68,027, the adjusted value of that $98,670 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 121 of 485 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for school psychologists in Massachusetts, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $65,990 to $135,280; 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 $73,631 from $98,670. 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 121 of 485 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Massachusetts, so $68,027 — the adjusted value of that $98,670 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 121 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $65,990 and the top tenth $135,280, so most people doing this work in Massachusetts sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $68,027 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 $73,631.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($65,990 to $135,280) 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 $68,027 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 $73,631 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.