Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$71,688
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$25,142
26.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$64,698
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
$96,830
Kept after tax
$71,688
Worth in national money
$64,698
State rank
15
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. District of Columbia pays this job a middle wage of $96,830, ranking 15 of 49 states and sitting about 14.43% above the national middle.
- Against other work in District of Columbia, this sits in the middle: 138 of 390 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $96,830 the take-home is $71,688. But District of Columbia costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $64,698 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $113,410, because the best-paid pull it up.
- District of Columbia's median for biological science teachers, postsecondary is $96,830, about 14.43% above the national figure and 15 of 49 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Biological science teachers, postsecondary ranks 138 of 390 occupations in District of Columbia by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and District of Columbia income tax is $71,688 for biological science teachers, postsecondary, from $96,830. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $64,698. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $113,410 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $61,920 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $96,830 |
| Top tenth earn over | $206,510 |
| This salary | $96,830 |
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 | $71,688 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $76,950 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$14,489 |
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 | $89,350 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$20,014 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 111 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of biological science teachers, postsecondary in District of Columbia earn under $96,830 and half over. The published range runs $61,920 at the tenth percentile to $206,510 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In District of Columbia the take-home figure of $71,688, from $96,830, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 138 of 390 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $64,698 uses one figure for the whole of District of Columbia. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 390 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 138.
- Figures are distribution medians for biological science teachers, postsecondary in District of Columbia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $61,920 to $206,510; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for District of Columbia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $71,688 from $96,830. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 138 of 390 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $64,698, worked from $96,830, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular District of Columbia address, on work sitting at 138 of 390 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $113,410, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $61,920, the highest tenth $206,510, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in District of Columbia run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $64,698 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; District of Columbia then takes its own share, leaving $71,688.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 $113,410. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($61,920) and the ninetieth ($206,510) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $64,698 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 $71,688 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.