Carpenters in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,199
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$12,511
20.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,402
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
$61,710
Kept after tax
$49,199
Worth in national money
$44,402
State rank
18
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. District of Columbia pays carpenters around $61,710 at the midpoint, 18 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 390 occupations District of Columbia reports figures for, this is number 268.
- District of Columbia is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $61,710 the take-home is $49,199; in national-average money that behaves like $44,402. The average comes to $65,990, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For carpenters the District of Columbia median is $61,710, ranking 18 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In District of Columbia's occupational distribution, carpenters sits at 268 of 390 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Take-home for carpenters in District of Columbia, on $61,710, is $49,199; deflated by the state's price level, $44,402. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $65,990 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Carpenters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,840 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,710 |
| Top tenth earn over | $80,720 |
| This salary | $61,710 |
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 | $49,199 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,764 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,867 |
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 | $58,518 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$10,723 |
| 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 carpenters in District of Columbia earn under $61,710 and half over. The published range runs $47,840 at the tenth percentile to $80,720 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In District of Columbia the take-home figure of $49,199, from $61,710, 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 268 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 $44,402 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 268.
- Figures are distribution medians for carpenters in District of Columbia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,840 to $80,720; 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 $49,199 from $61,710. 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 268 of 390 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $44,402, worked from $61,710, 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 268 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 $65,990, 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 — $47,840 at the tenth percentile, $80,720 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 $44,402 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 $49,199 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 $65,990. 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 ($47,840 to $80,720) 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 $44,402 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 $49,199 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.