Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$54,307
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$14,793
21.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,174
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
$69,100
Kept after tax
$54,307
Worth in national money
$50,174
State rank
6
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Massachusetts pays this job a middle wage of $69,100, ranking 6 of 47 states and sitting about 17.82% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 241 among 485 occupations Massachusetts publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $69,100 the take-home is $54,307. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $50,174 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $70,970, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Massachusetts's median for title examiners, abstractors, and searchers is $69,100, about 17.82% above the national figure and 6 of 47 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Position 241 of 485 in Massachusetts places title examiners, abstractors, and searchers 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 $54,307 for title examiners, abstractors, and searchers, from $69,100. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $50,174. ⚠️ 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 $70,970 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $52,990 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $69,100 |
| Top tenth earn over | $95,690 |
| This salary | $69,100 |
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 | $54,307 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $57,442 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,938 |
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 | $64,875 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$11,133 |
| 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 $69,100. The published range is $52,990 up to $95,690, 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 $54,307, worked from $69,100. 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 241 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $50,174 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 241.
- Reported values are medians; for title examiners, abstractors, and searchers in Massachusetts the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $52,990 to $95,690. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Massachusetts take-home of $54,307, on $69,100 for work ranking 241 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 241 of 485 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $50,174, worked from $69,100, 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 241 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $52,990 and the top tenth $95,690, so most people doing this work in Massachusetts sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $50,174 — 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, $54,307 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 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 ($52,990 to $95,690) 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 $50,174 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 $54,307 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.