Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,777
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$13,423
20.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,728
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
$65,200
Kept after tax
$51,777
Worth in national money
$46,728
State rank
16
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. District of Columbia's middle earner gets $65,200, putting the state 16 of 51 — about 5.55% ahead of the national figure.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 247 among 390 occupations District of Columbia publishes pay for.
- District of Columbia is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $65,200 the take-home is $51,777; in national-average money that behaves like $46,728. The average comes to $69,880, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists, District of Columbia sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $65,200, ranking 16 of 51 and running about 5.55% 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.
- Position 247 of 390 in District of Columbia places bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists 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.
- Take-home for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists in District of Columbia, on $65,200, is $51,777; deflated by the state's price level, $46,728. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $69,880 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $49,930 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $65,200 |
| Top tenth earn over | $93,040 |
| This salary | $65,200 |
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 | $51,777 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $54,568 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$9,426 |
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 | $61,726 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$11,400 |
| 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 bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists in District of Columbia earn under $65,200 and half over. The published range runs $49,930 at the tenth percentile to $93,040 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In District of Columbia the take-home figure of $51,777, from $65,200, 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 247 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 $46,728, the adjusted value of that $65,200 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 247 of 390 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists in District of Columbia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $49,930 to $93,040; 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 $51,777 from $65,200. 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 247 of 390 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for District of Columbia, so $46,728 — the adjusted value of that $65,200 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 247 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 $69,880, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $49,930 at the tenth percentile, $93,040 at the ninetieth.
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 $46,728 — 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 $51,777.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 $69,880. 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 ($49,930 to $93,040) 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 $46,728 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 $51,777 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.