Structural Iron and Steel Workers in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$88,119
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$32,721
27.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$81,412
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
$120,840
Kept after tax
$88,119
Worth in national money
$81,412
State rank
1
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Massachusetts is one of the better-paying states for structural iron and steel workers. The middle earner takes $120,840, which ranks 1 of 50 states with published figures. That is about 92.48% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 485 occupations Massachusetts reports, structural iron and steel workers comes in at 55 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $120,840, tax leaves $88,119 — and because Massachusetts is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $81,412 would nationally. Here the average runs under the middle, at $113,290.
- Massachusetts ranks 1 of 50 states publishing a median for structural iron and steel workers, at $120,840 — about 92.48% 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.
- Structural iron and steel workers ranks 55 of 485 occupations by median in Massachusetts, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After tax, $88,119 remains from the Massachusetts median of $120,840 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $81,412 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $113,290 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Structural Iron and Steel Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $82,760 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $120,840 |
| Top tenth earn over | $128,080 |
| This salary | $120,840 |
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 | $88,119 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $93,841 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$15,157 |
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 | $112,706 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$20,936 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 108 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $120,840 as a midpoint for Massachusetts, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $82,760 and the ninetieth is $128,080 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Massachusetts's $88,119, worked from $120,840. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 55 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $81,412 uses one figure for the whole of Massachusetts. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 485 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 55.
- The Massachusetts median of $120,840 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $82,760 to $128,080. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Massachusetts take-home of $88,119, on $120,840 for work ranking 55 of 485 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 55 of 485 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $81,412, worked from $120,840, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Massachusetts address, on work sitting at 55 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 $113,290, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $82,760 at the tenth percentile, $128,080 at the ninetieth.
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 $81,412 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 $88,119.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $113,290. 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 ($82,760 to $128,080) 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 $81,412 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 $88,119 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.