What is the real (cost-adjusted) MA salary in Massachusetts?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 107.7 for Massachusetts), the real-wage equivalent is $45,080 — what the $48,540 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $42,359 to $51,377.

How are Massachusetts MA salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

How many MAs does Massachusetts employ?

BLS OES counts 16,210 MAs employed in Massachusetts in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Where does Massachusetts rank for MA pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Massachusetts ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Massachusetts?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Massachusetts.

Specialty MA pay (cardiology / dermatology / ortho) vs primary care in Massachusetts?

BLS aggregates all medical assistants under one SOC. In Massachusetts, specialty practice MAs — particularly in dermatology, cardiology, orthopedics, and ophthalmology — typically earn 10-20% above primary-care MA pay, reflecting tighter procedural support requirements and longer training ramps. Surgical specialty MAs assisting in office-based procedures (skin biopsies, in-office injections, vascular ultrasound assist) sit at the top of the BLS band in Massachusetts. Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and community-health clinics in Massachusetts typically pay below BLS median but offer PSLF eligibility and stronger benefits.

Is the medical assistant role still a viable RN-bridge path in Massachusetts?

MA → RN remains a common pathway in Massachusetts. The financial logic: an MA earning at the Massachusetts BLS median while completing an associate-degree RN program (typically 2 years post-prerequisites, $5K-$25K tuition at community college) sees an average BLS-reported wage roughly 2-2.5× higher post-licensure. BSN-direct programs ($40K-$120K) extend payback timeline but open hospital and management tracks. Many Massachusetts health systems offer tuition support or ladder programs that effectively eliminate program cost — making the MA-to-RN economic transition substantially more favorable than the headline tuition implies.

Massachusetts Medical Assistant Salary: BLS $49K Median, Real $45K (2026)

TL;DR

$48,540 is the BLS median wage for MAs in Massachusetts; $45,080 is the BEA-adjusted purchasing-power equivalent.
Nominal: #7/51 · Real: #19/51 — ranking shifts by 12 positions after RPP.
BEA RPP near 100 means nominal pay translates almost 1:1 into real take-home.
Wage envelope: $40,190 (P10) to $60,850 (P90), with quartiles at $45,610 and $55,320.

Wage breakdown — Massachusetts

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$40,190	$37,325
P25 (lower quartile)	$45,610	$42,359
P50 (median)	$48,540	$45,080
P75 (upper quartile)	$55,320	$51,377
P90 (top tier)	$60,850	$56,513
Mean	$50,390	$46,798
Employment	16,210 MAs in Massachusetts

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Massachusetts index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	107.7
Goods	100.0
Services	166.1
Rents	130.1

Massachusetts is a high-cost state — RPP 107.7 above the national 100 baseline. Most of the cost premium routes through rents (130.1) and services (166.1).

After-tax take-home — Massachusetts (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (MA)	$48,540	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$3,687	7.6% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$2,427	5% flat 2026 (4% surtax above $1M)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$3,713	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$38,713	79.8% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$35,953	÷ (107.7 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Massachusetts state-tax burden means for MA take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 5.0% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $38,713 (79.8% of gross). After the 107.7 RPP, real take-home is $35,953.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $44,200 for MAs with mean pay of $44,720 and total employment of 793,460. Massachusetts sits at #7 on nominal pay and #19 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Massachusetts falls 12 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

What is the real (cost-adjusted) MA salary in Massachusetts?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 107.7 for Massachusetts), the real-wage equivalent is $45,080 — what the $48,540 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $42,359 to $51,377.
How are Massachusetts MA salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
How many MAs does Massachusetts employ?: BLS OES counts 16,210 MAs employed in Massachusetts in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Where does Massachusetts rank for MA pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Massachusetts ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Massachusetts?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Massachusetts.
Specialty MA pay (cardiology / dermatology / ortho) vs primary care in Massachusetts?: BLS aggregates all medical assistants under one SOC. In Massachusetts, specialty practice MAs — particularly in dermatology, cardiology, orthopedics, and ophthalmology — typically earn 10-20% above primary-care MA pay, reflecting tighter procedural support requirements and longer training ramps. Surgical specialty MAs assisting in office-based procedures (skin biopsies, in-office injections, vascular ultrasound assist) sit at the top of the BLS band in Massachusetts. Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and community-health clinics in Massachusetts typically pay below BLS median but offer PSLF eligibility and stronger benefits.
Is the medical assistant role still a viable RN-bridge path in Massachusetts?: MA → RN remains a common pathway in Massachusetts. The financial logic: an MA earning at the Massachusetts BLS median while completing an associate-degree RN program (typically 2 years post-prerequisites, $5K-$25K tuition at community college) sees an average BLS-reported wage roughly 2-2.5× higher post-licensure. BSN-direct programs ($40K-$120K) extend payback timeline but open hospital and management tracks. Many Massachusetts health systems offer tuition support or ladder programs that effectively eliminate program cost — making the MA-to-RN economic transition substantially more favorable than the headline tuition implies.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 31-9092, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-07.

Cross-comparison: see how Massachusetts MA pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.