Waiters and Waitresses in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,480
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$6,980
18.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$29,084
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
$38,460
Kept after tax
$31,480
Worth in national money
$29,084
State rank
12
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Massachusetts pays waiters and waitresses a middle wage of $38,460, ranking 12 of 51 states and sitting about 9.17% above the national middle.
- Against 485 occupations Massachusetts publishes, waiters and waitresses lands at 453. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $38,460 the take-home is $31,480. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $29,084 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $44,480, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Massachusetts's median for waiters and waitresses is $38,460, about 9.17% above the national figure and 12 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Within Massachusetts, this work ranks 453 of 485 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Massachusetts income tax is $31,480 for waiters and waitresses, from $38,460. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $29,084. ⚠️ 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 $44,480 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Waiters and Waitresses
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,790 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,460 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,200 |
| This salary | $38,460 |
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 | $31,480 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,083 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,961 |
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 | $36,465 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,999 |
| 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 waiters and waitresses in Massachusetts earn under $38,460 and half over. The published range runs $31,790 at the tenth percentile to $62,200 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Massachusetts's $31,480, worked from $38,460. 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 453 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $29,084 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 453.
- Figures are distribution medians for waiters and waitresses in Massachusetts, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,790 to $62,200; 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.
- The Massachusetts take-home of $31,480, on $38,460 for work ranking 453 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 453 of 485 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $29,084, worked from $38,460, 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 453 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 $44,480, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $31,790 at the bottom tenth to $62,200 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $29,084 of national purchasing power.
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, $31,480 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $44,480. 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 ($31,790) and the ninetieth ($62,200) 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 $29,084 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 $31,480 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.