Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,399
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$9,571
19.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,400
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
$48,970
Kept after tax
$39,399
Worth in national money
$36,400
State rank
34
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Massachusetts is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $48,970, ranking 34 of 50 states — about 5.12% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Massachusetts, this one sits low: 369 of 485 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $48,970 the take-home is $39,399. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $36,400 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $54,470, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Massachusetts ranks 34 of 50 for separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders, with a median of $48,970 — about 5.12% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders occupies position 369 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 $39,399 for separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders, from $48,970. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $36,400. ⚠️ 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 $54,470 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,730 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,970 |
| Top tenth earn over | $76,420 |
| This salary | $48,970 |
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 | $39,399 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,527 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,334 |
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 | $46,321 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,661 |
| 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 separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders in Massachusetts earn under $48,970 and half over. The published range runs $38,730 at the tenth percentile to $76,420 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Massachusetts the take-home figure of $39,399, from $48,970, 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 369 of 485 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $36,400, the adjusted value of that $48,970 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 369 of 485 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders in Massachusetts, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $38,730 to $76,420; 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 $39,399 from $48,970. 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 369 of 485 locally.
- This $36,400 adjusted figure, worked from $48,970, 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 369 of 485 in the state. The occupation ranks 369 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 $54,470, 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?
The label is broader than the work. From $38,730 at the bottom tenth to $76,420 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $36,400 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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, $39,399 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.
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 $54,470. 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 ($38,730) and the ninetieth ($76,420) 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 $36,400 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 $39,399 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.