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Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers pay in Massachusetts and Washington
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers is $54,070 per year in Massachusetts. It is $61,210 per year in Washington. Massachusetts is 11.7% below Washington on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 51-9123 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 210 wage and salary jobs in Massachusetts and 90 in Washington. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings