Animal Caretakers in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,216
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$7,994
18.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,685
District of Columbia costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in District of Columbia — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$44,210
Kept after tax
$36,216
Worth in national money
$32,685
State rank
1
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- District of Columbia is one of the better-paying states for animal caretakers. The middle earner takes $44,210, which ranks 1 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 25.03% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in District of Columbia, this one sits low: 351 of 390 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- District of Columbia is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $44,210 the take-home is $36,216; in national-average money that behaves like $32,685. The average comes to $46,510, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- District of Columbia ranks 1 of 51 states publishing a median for animal caretakers, at $44,210 — about 25.03% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Animal caretakers occupies position 351 of 390 in District of Columbia's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Take-home for animal caretakers in District of Columbia, on $44,210, is $36,216; deflated by the state's price level, $32,685. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $46,510 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Animal Caretakers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,840 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,210 |
| Top tenth earn over | $64,300 |
| This salary | $44,210 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in District of Columbia | $36,216 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,703 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,114 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $42,360 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,394 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 111 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in District of Columbia earn less than $44,210. The published range is $37,840 up to $64,300, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind District of Columbia's $36,216, worked from $44,210. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 351 of 390.
- One number stands for prices across all of District of Columbia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $32,685, the adjusted value of that $44,210 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 351 of 390 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for animal caretakers in District of Columbia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,840 to $64,300. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The District of Columbia take-home of $36,216, on $44,210 for work ranking 351 of 390 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 351 of 390 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for District of Columbia, so $32,685 — the adjusted value of that $44,210 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 351 of 390 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $46,510, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $37,840 at the tenth percentile, $64,300 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. District of Columbia costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $32,685 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and District of Columbia adds its own income tax on top — which is why $36,216 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in District of Columbia is $46,510. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,840 to $64,300) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to District of Columbia rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
District of Columbia's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $32,685 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $36,216 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and District of Columbia income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.