Painter pay in Massachusetts after taxes: what you keep (2026)

The median painter in Massachusetts earned $55,870 a year in May 2024, which is $27 an hour for a full-time year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Half of the 4,830 painters the BLS counts in Massachusetts earned more than that and half earned less; the middle half of them sat between $47,210 and $64,270. That is the gross figure, before anyone takes anything. What you keep depends on Massachusetts's tax, and Massachusetts has a flat 5% state income tax.

What the median painter keeps in Massachusetts

For a single filer on the median $55,870, taking the standard deduction and no other adjustments:

The state line is 5.0% of gross at this salary. Plus 4% on income above about $1 million, which is not in the table. Health insurance, retirement contributions and local taxes are not in it either; they vary by employer and by city.

Where Massachusetts ranks for painter pay

Of the 50 states, Massachusetts ranks 11 of 50 on the gross median for painters. The highest-paying state is Hawaii at $67,620 and the lowest is Arkansas at $38,420. Gross rank is not take-home rank: a state with no income tax climbs several places once the state line is applied, and a high-tax state drops.

Across the border

The same job in the states next to Massachusetts, gross median and estimated take-home for a single filer:

None of Massachusetts's neighbours beats it on take-home for painters. New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont pay less once tax is counted. Pay is one line; rent is the other, and a higher median in a metro with higher rent can leave you with less.

Where the painter jobs are in Massachusetts

The BLS count of 4,830 painters is statewide. The metros with the most of that work are Boston, Worcester, Springfield and Cambridge, which is where the median is set and where the upper quartile ($64,270 and above) is most often paid. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are listed on the Massachusetts openings page; those filings are the ones already paying to bring people in, and housing or transport is often part of the offer.

What people get wrong about painter pay in Massachusetts

• Quoting the mean. The BLS mean for Massachusetts is $28 an hour, pulled up by the top earners. The median ($27) is what the typical painter makes.
• Comparing gross across states. A $55,870 offer in Massachusetts is $44,082 in hand; the same number in a no-tax state is $46,876.
• Forgetting the employer's share of insurance. A job that pays $53,870 with full health coverage can beat one that pays $58,870 without it.
• Treating the statewide median as the metro median. Boston pays differently from a rural county; ask for the figure for the place you are actually going.

Everything about Massachusetts, on one page

The Massachusetts page has the licence registries and boards, the state tax at three salaries, the programs that pay you to come, and the openings filed in Massachusetts this month. If you know which state you are leaving, the move pages compare the two directly. Creating a free Workmerica profile with your trade and your destination puts you in front of Massachusetts employers hiring from out of state.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 state estimates for Painter. Tax lines are a single filer with the standard deduction, 2024 federal brackets, and the state rate in lib/us-states.ts; progressive states are approximated. Not tax advice.