Biological Scientists, All Other in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$64,117
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$20,473
24.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$57,866
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
$84,590
Kept after tax
$64,117
Worth in national money
$57,866
State rank
27
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. District of Columbia is 27 of 50 states for biological scientists, all other, with a middle wage of $84,590. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Biological scientists, all other ranks 166 among 390 occupations District of Columbia publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $84,590 the take-home is $64,117. But District of Columbia costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $57,866 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $110,210, because the best-paid pull it up.
- District of Columbia ranks 27 of 50 for biological scientists, all other at $84,590. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 166 of 390 in District of Columbia places biological scientists, all other in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and District of Columbia income tax is $64,117 for biological scientists, all other, from $84,590. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $57,866. ⚠️ 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 $110,210 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Biological Scientists, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,510 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $84,590 |
| Top tenth earn over | $211,910 |
| This salary | $84,590 |
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 | $64,117 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $68,339 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$12,460 |
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 | $78,589 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$17,211 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 111 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $84,590 as a midpoint for District of Columbia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $51,510 and the ninetieth is $211,910 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In District of Columbia the take-home figure of $64,117, from $84,590, 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 166 of 390 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of District of Columbia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $57,866, the adjusted value of that $84,590 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 166 of 390 in the state.
- The District of Columbia median of $84,590 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $51,510 to $211,910. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- 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 $64,117 from $84,590. 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 166 of 390 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for District of Columbia, so $57,866 — the adjusted value of that $84,590 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 166 of 390 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $110,210 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $51,510 and the top tenth $211,910 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $57,866 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and District of Columbia's own levy, $64,117 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 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 $110,210. 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 ($51,510) and the ninetieth ($211,910) 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 $57,866 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 $64,117 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.