Broadcast Technicians in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$78,763
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$29,507
27.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$71,084
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
$108,270
Kept after tax
$78,763
Worth in national money
$71,084
State rank
1
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for broadcast technicians is strong here. District of Columbia's middle earner gets $108,270, putting the state 1 of 47 — about 81.75% ahead of the national figure.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 390 occupations District of Columbia reports, broadcast technicians comes in at 81 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $108,270, tax leaves $78,763 — and because District of Columbia is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $71,084 would nationally. Here the average runs under the middle, at $99,760.
- For broadcast technicians, District of Columbia sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $108,270, ranking 1 of 47 and running about 81.75% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Broadcast technicians ranks 81 of 390 occupations by median in District of Columbia, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After tax, $78,763 remains from the District of Columbia median of $108,270 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $71,084 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $99,760 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Broadcast Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,220 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $108,270 |
| Top tenth earn over | $133,880 |
| This salary | $108,270 |
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 | $78,763 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $84,998 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$16,385 |
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 | $99,408 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$22,633 |
| 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 $108,270. The published range is $45,220 up to $133,880, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In District of Columbia the take-home figure of $78,763, from $108,270, 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 81 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 $71,084, the adjusted value of that $108,270 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 81 of 390 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for broadcast technicians in District of Columbia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $45,220 to $133,880. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- 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 $78,763 from $108,270. 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 81 of 390 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for District of Columbia, so $71,084 — the adjusted value of that $108,270 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 81 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 $99,760, 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?
The label is broader than the work. From $45,220 at the bottom tenth to $133,880 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $71,084 of national purchasing power.
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 $78,763.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $99,760. 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 ($45,220) and the ninetieth ($133,880) 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 $71,084 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 $78,763 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.