Surveying and Mapping Technicians in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,753
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$11,977
20.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,195
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
$58,730
Kept after tax
$46,753
Worth in national money
$43,195
State rank
16
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for surveying and mapping technicians is strong here. Massachusetts's middle earner gets $58,730, putting the state 16 of 50 — about 8.28% ahead of the national figure.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Surveying and mapping technicians ranks 304 among 485 occupations Massachusetts publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $58,730 the take-home is $46,753. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $43,195 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $65,060, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For surveying and mapping technicians, Massachusetts sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $58,730, ranking 16 of 50 and running about 8.28% 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 304 of 485 in Massachusetts places surveying and mapping technicians 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Massachusetts income tax is $46,753 for surveying and mapping technicians, from $58,730. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $43,195. ⚠️ 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 $65,060 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Surveying and Mapping Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,370 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,730 |
| Top tenth earn over | $99,990 |
| This salary | $58,730 |
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 | $46,753 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,370 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,610 |
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 | $55,474 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,204 |
| 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 $58,730. The published range is $46,370 up to $99,990, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Massachusetts's $46,753, worked from $58,730. 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 304 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $43,195 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 304.
- Reported values are medians; for surveying and mapping technicians in Massachusetts the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $46,370 to $99,990. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Massachusetts take-home of $46,753, on $58,730 for work ranking 304 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 304 of 485 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $43,195, worked from $58,730, 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 304 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 $65,060, 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?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $46,370 and the top tenth $99,990 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $43,195 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 $46,753.
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 $65,060. 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 ($46,370) and the ninetieth ($99,990) 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 $43,195 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 $46,753 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.