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

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 107.7 for Massachusetts), the real-wage equivalent is $94,702 — what the $101,970 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $77,994 to $123,501.

How are Massachusetts RN 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.

What does the top of the RN pay scale look like in Massachusetts?

The 90th percentile lands at $173,590. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $132,980.

Why is the BEA RPP for Massachusetts different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Massachusetts's overall index of 107.7 reflects rents 130.1, services 166.1, and goods 100.0.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

How does specialty (ICU, OR, NICU, ER, L&D) affect RN pay in Massachusetts?

BLS reports a single 'Registered Nurses' SOC code (29-1141), so the figures on this page are not specialty-segmented. In practice, ICU, NICU, and OR roles in Massachusetts typically pay 8-15% above the all-RN median; L&D and ER vary by hospital system. Travel-RN contracts can substantially exceed staff rates during demand spikes.

Travel RN vs staff RN in Massachusetts — which earns more on a real basis?

Travel RN gross weekly is usually higher, but the real comparison nets out housing stipends (which are tax-advantaged but state-dependent), per-diem premiums, and the lack of staff-side benefits and pension accrual. In Massachusetts, the real-wage gap is narrower than the headline contract numbers suggest.

Massachusetts Registered Nurse Salary: BLS $102K Median, Real $95K (2026)

TL;DR

Headline RN pay in Massachusetts is $101,970. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $94,702.
State ranks #10 nationally on nominal wage, #14 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.
Cost of living tracks roughly with the national index, so nominal and real wages stay close.
Bottom quartile $83,980, top quartile $132,980. The P90 ($173,590) is roughly 2.3× the P10 ($76,950).
Massachusetts is not in the NLC compact; RNs need a state-specific license here, no multistate shortcut.

Wage breakdown — Massachusetts

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$76,950	$71,465
P25 (lower quartile)	$83,980	$77,994
P50 (median)	$101,970	$94,702
P75 (upper quartile)	$132,980	$123,501
P90 (top tier)	$173,590	$161,217
Mean	$112,610	$104,583
Employment	90,190 RNs 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 (RN)	$101,970	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$13,680	13.4% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$5,099	5% flat 2026 (4% surtax above $1M)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$7,801	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$75,390	73.9% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$70,017	÷ (107.7 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 5.0% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $75,390 (73.9% of gross). After the 107.7 RPP, real take-home is $70,017.

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 $93,600 for RNs with mean pay of $98,430 and total employment of 3,282,010. Massachusetts sits at #10 on nominal pay and #14 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Massachusetts falls 4 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Licensure — Massachusetts (NLC)

Massachusetts is not currently a NLC member. RNs moving to Massachusetts must apply for a Massachusetts-issued license through endorsement; a multistate license from a Compact state alone is not sufficient. Endorsement timelines and fees are set by the Massachusetts Board of Nursing.

Legislative status (2026-05): Bill SD 1990 introduced; in Joint Committee on Public Health. No floor vote scheduled.

Source: NCSBN compact implementation tracker — re-synced quarterly. See NLC reciprocity hub for the cross-state matrix and changelog for status changes.

Frequently asked questions

What is the real (cost-adjusted) RN salary in Massachusetts?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 107.7 for Massachusetts), the real-wage equivalent is $94,702 — what the $101,970 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $77,994 to $123,501.
How are Massachusetts RN 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.
What does the top of the RN pay scale look like in Massachusetts?: The 90th percentile lands at $173,590. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $132,980.
Why is the BEA RPP for Massachusetts different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Massachusetts's overall index of 107.7 reflects rents 130.1, services 166.1, and goods 100.0.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
How does specialty (ICU, OR, NICU, ER, L&D) affect RN pay in Massachusetts?: BLS reports a single 'Registered Nurses' SOC code (29-1141), so the figures on this page are not specialty-segmented. In practice, ICU, NICU, and OR roles in Massachusetts typically pay 8-15% above the all-RN median; L&D and ER vary by hospital system. Travel-RN contracts can substantially exceed staff rates during demand spikes.
Travel RN vs staff RN in Massachusetts — which earns more on a real basis?: Travel RN gross weekly is usually higher, but the real comparison nets out housing stipends (which are tax-advantaged but state-dependent), per-diem premiums, and the lack of staff-side benefits and pension accrual. In Massachusetts, the real-wage gap is narrower than the headline contract numbers suggest.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 29-1141, 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 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Massachusetts RN 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.