Chemists in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$103,926
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$45,934
30.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$93,792
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
$149,860
Kept after tax
$103,926
Worth in national money
$93,792
State rank
1
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for chemists is strong here. District of Columbia's middle earner gets $149,860, putting the state 1 of 51 — about 64.25% ahead of the national figure.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 390 occupations District of Columbia reports, chemists comes in at 25 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $149,860, tax leaves $103,926 — and because District of Columbia is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $93,792 would nationally. Here the average runs under the middle, at $148,840.
- For chemists, District of Columbia sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $149,860, ranking 1 of 51 and running about 64.25% 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.
- Chemists ranks 25 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, $103,926 remains from the District of Columbia median of $149,860 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $93,792 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $148,840 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Chemists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $101,400 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $149,860 |
| Top tenth earn over | $195,190 |
| This salary | $149,860 |
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 | $103,926 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $113,695 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$23,208 |
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 | $135,567 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$32,855 |
| 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 $149,860. The published range is $101,400 up to $195,190, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In District of Columbia the take-home figure of $103,926, from $149,860, 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 25 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 $93,792, the adjusted value of that $149,860 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 25 of 390 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for chemists in District of Columbia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $101,400 to $195,190. 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 $103,926 from $149,860. 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 25 of 390 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for District of Columbia, so $93,792 — the adjusted value of that $149,860 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 25 of 390 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $101,400 at the bottom tenth to $195,190 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $93,792 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, $103,926 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($101,400 to $195,190) 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 $93,792 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 $103,926 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.