- The middle half earn between $17.50 and $20.75 an hour.
- Only 6 states pay auto detailers more at the median.
- Massachusetts pays more than 3 of its 5 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 5,100 auto detailers on payrolls in Massachusetts.
- At the state median wage, a detailing business needs to bill about $103.20 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Auto Detailer pay in Massachusetts, bottom to top
BLS has no separate figure for auto detailers. These are its numbers for cleaners of vehicles and equipment, the group that holds auto detailers along with car wash attendants and equipment cleaners.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $15.79 | $32,830 | $13.17 |
| 25th percentile | $17.50 | $36,390 | $14.62 |
| Median | $18.57 | $38,630 | $17.23 |
| 75th percentile | $20.75 | $43,160 | $19.73 |
| 90th percentile | $23.34 | $48,550 | $22.89 |
| Average (mean) | $19.48 | $40,520 | $17.78 |
Pay is bunched up in Massachusetts. The top tenth earn $23.34 an hour or more, about 1.5 times the $15.79 at the bottom tenth. Nationally that gap is 1.7 times, so the step from the bottom of the scale to the top is shorter here than in most places.
Both ends of the scale beat the national figures: $15.79 against $13.17 at the bottom tenth, and $23.34 against $22.89 at the top.
The average, $19.48, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How Massachusetts compares with other states
Over a full year, the Massachusetts median of $38,630 is $2,800 more than the national $35,830.
In the state ranking, Massachusetts sits 7th, between New York ($18.94) and Oregon ($18.30). The range runs from $13.27 in Louisiana to $20.53 in the District of Columbia.
Against its neighboring states, Massachusetts is in the middle: New York and Vermont pay more, and Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island pay less.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in Massachusetts. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Massachusetts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | $18.57 | $38,630 | |
| Connecticut | $17.25 | $35,870 | −$1.32 an hour |
| New Hampshire | $17.99 | $37,420 | −$0.58 an hour |
| New York | $18.94 | $39,390 | +$0.37 an hour |
| Rhode Island | $17.95 | $37,340 | −$0.62 an hour |
| Vermont | $19.01 | $39,530 | +$0.44 an hour |
How many auto detailers work in Massachusetts
About 5,100 auto detailers work on payrolls in Massachusetts, 1.3% of the 380,430 nationwide, the 27th largest count among the states.
It is a smaller part of local jobs than in most of the country, at 1.4 per 1,000 jobs, 0.57 times the national share.
What a detailing business in Massachusetts should charge
Higher wages in Massachusetts go straight into the price. Take a detailing business in Massachusetts paying the state median of $18.57 and run it through the labor rate calculator with its starting numbers (40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit).
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $18.57 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $41,580 |
| Break-even rate | ($41,580 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $87.72 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $87.72 ÷ 0.85 | $103.20 |
That is $103.20 per billable hour, 5.6 times the wage, and $2.35 more than the $100.85 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $20.75 in Massachusetts, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $107.03.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $17.50, the rate only drops to $101.32.
At this wage, overhead is most of the price: $60 of every billed hour goes to it before anyone is paid. Spreading the same overhead over more billable hours, with a second person or less drive time, brings the rate down fastest.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as an auto detailer in Massachusetts
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how detailers run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 53-7061, cleaners of vehicles and equipment, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: auto detailer salary by state.