Social Science Research Assistants in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,332
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$13,148
20.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,501
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
$63,480
Kept after tax
$50,332
Worth in national money
$46,501
State rank
13
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for social science research assistants is strong here. Massachusetts's middle earner gets $63,480, putting the state 13 of 45 — about 2.4% ahead of the national figure.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Social science research assistants ranks 262 among 485 occupations Massachusetts publishes pay for.
- Massachusetts is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $63,480 the take-home is $50,332; in national-average money that behaves like $46,501. The average lands at $63,310, below the middle of the range.
- For social science research assistants, Massachusetts sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $63,480, ranking 13 of 45 and running about 2.4% 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.
- Position 262 of 485 in Massachusetts places social science research assistants 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.
- Take-home for social science research assistants in Massachusetts, on $63,480, is $50,332; deflated by the state's price level, $46,501. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $63,310 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Social Science Research Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $49,500 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $63,480 |
| Top tenth earn over | $82,130 |
| This salary | $63,480 |
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 | $50,332 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,186 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,231 |
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 | $59,928 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,955 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 108 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Massachusetts earn less than $63,480. The published range is $49,500 up to $82,130, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $50,332 take-home in Massachusetts comes from $63,480. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 262 of 485.
- Two cautions on $46,501, the adjusted value of that $63,480 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 262 of 485 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for social science research assistants in Massachusetts the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $49,500 to $82,130. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $50,332, from $63,480, assumes a single Massachusetts filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 262 of 485 locally, and the state ranks 13 of 45 for it.
- This $46,501 adjusted figure, worked from $63,480, 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 262 of 485 in the state. The occupation ranks 262 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $49,500 and the top tenth $82,130, 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 $46,501 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 $50,332.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 45 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 ($49,500 to $82,130) 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 $46,501 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 $50,332 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.