Scientific Research and Development Services · Massachusetts

Scientific Research and Development Services in Massachusetts

NAICS 5417 · Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023

Benchmarking Scientific Research and Development Services in Massachusetts

Scientific Research and Development Services (NAICS 5417) in Massachusetts reports 100,285 workers across 1,825 establishments, with $20.6B of aggregate annual payroll flowing through Census CBP 2023 filings. That represents 10.0% of national employment for this industry, a concentration ratio that tells you whether Massachusetts is a primary labor market for this NAICS code or a smaller satellite. A share above 5% signals a meaningful regional cluster; below 1% usually means the state is not a structural fit for this industry at scale.

Wage benchmarking is where state-level data earns its keep. The average annual compensation for Scientific Research and Development Services employees in Massachusetts is $205,791/yr, versus a national average of $153,460/yr. Massachusetts pays above the national average for this industry, which usually reflects higher skill concentration, union density, or regional cost of living.

Profitability data is only available at the national level because the IRS Statistics of Income program does not publish state-level margin breakdowns. The national net profit margin for Scientific Research and Development Services is -17.7%, and while margins do vary by state, the direction of variance usually follows labor cost and establishment size, both shown above. For a complete picture, pair this state-industry view with the Scientific Research and Development Services national page (entity structure, SBA lending, sub-industries) and the Massachusetts overview (top employers, payroll dispersion across industries).

Employment

100,285

Establishments

1,825

Annual Payroll

$20.6B

Avg Payroll/Employee

$205,791/yr

Compare to National Average

Profit Margin (National)

-17.7% National

National avg, IRS SOI (no state-level profit data)

Avg Payroll/Employee

$205,791/yr Massachusetts
$153,460/yr National

Massachusetts vs National avg

Employment

100,285 Massachusetts
1,003,975 National

Massachusetts share of national

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Scientific Research and Development Services businesses are in Massachusetts?
There are 1,825 Scientific Research and Development Services (NAICS 5417) establishments in Massachusetts, according to Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 data. These establishments employ 100,285 workers.
What is the average payroll for Scientific Research and Development Services in Massachusetts?
The average annual payroll per employee for Scientific Research and Development Services in Massachusetts is $205,791/yr. The national average for this industry is $153,460/yr. This data comes from the Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 survey.
How does Massachusetts compare nationally for Scientific Research and Development Services?
Massachusetts accounts for 10.0% of national employment in Scientific Research and Development Services, with 100,285 of 1,003,975 total US workers in this industry. The national profit margin for this industry is -17.7% (state-level profit data is not available from Census).
What is the profit margin for Scientific Research and Development Services?
The national net profit margin for Scientific Research and Development Services is -17.7%, based on IRS Statistics of Income data. Note that state-level profit margin data is not available from Census Bureau sources, this figure reflects the nationwide average across all business entities.
Disclaimer: PlainBizBench provides publicly available IRS and Census data for informational purposes only. This is not financial, tax, or business advice. Consult a qualified accountant or financial advisor for business-specific guidance.
Source: Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 · NAICS 5417 · MA
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainBizBench Editorial

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns / SUSB Industry employment scale, payroll, and firm-size benchmarks · 2025

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Every figure on PlainBizBench is rendered directly from federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page compares this industry's state-level benchmark against the national figure, live from the dataset. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Public IRS/Census data, not financial or tax advice. See our full disclaimer.