Average Salary in Massachusetts (MA)

Massachusetts's $96,505 median household income is among the top three in the country, driven by the highest concentration of biotech, pharmaceutical, and research-university employment in the US. The Kendall Square cluster in Cambridge is arguably the densest biotech ecosystem in the world — the top ten pharma companies all maintain major R&D operations there, and the cluster is anchored by MIT and Harvard. Mass General Brigham is the largest private employer in the state, and healthcare-and-research employment together accounts for a disproportionate share of high-wage jobs. The cost-of-living index of 135 is driven overwhelmingly by Greater Boston housing costs, which have diverged sharply from central and western Massachusetts (Springfield, Worcester). The state income tax is a flat 5%, but voters approved a 4% surtax on income over $1 million in 2022 (the Fair Share Amendment) — the first progressive adjustment to the state's flat tax in over a century. The $15/hour minimum wage applies statewide. Property taxes are moderate by Northeast standards. Massachusetts has a large and uniquely comprehensive state healthcare programme dating to the 2006 Romney-era reform that inspired the ACA. Full data follows.