Childcare Workers in Washington
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,670
after federal, FICA and Washington tax
Tax takes
$6,010
14.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,857
Washington costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Washington — 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
$41,680
Kept after tax
$35,670
Worth in national money
$32,857
State rank
2
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Washington pays childcare workers a middle wage of $41,680, ranking 2 of 51 states and sitting about 19.15% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Washington, this one sits low: 467 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $41,680 the take-home is $35,670. But Washington costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $32,857 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $42,400, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Washington's median for childcare workers is $41,680, about 19.15% above the national figure and 2 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Childcare workers occupies position 467 of 493 in Washington's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Washington income tax is $35,670 for childcare workers, from $41,680. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $32,857. ⚠️ 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 $42,400 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Childcare Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,340 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $41,680 |
| Top tenth earn over | $50,080 |
| This salary | $41,680 |
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 Washington | $35,670 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $35,670 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,850 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $41,680 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,656 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
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 childcare workers in Washington earn under $41,680 and half over. The published range runs $35,340 at the tenth percentile to $50,080 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Washington the take-home figure of $35,670, from $41,680, 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 467 of 493 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $32,857, the adjusted value of that $41,680 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Washington. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 467 of 493 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for childcare workers in Washington, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,340 to $50,080; 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 Washington is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $35,670 from $41,680. 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 467 of 493 locally.
- This $32,857 adjusted figure, worked from $41,680, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 467 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 467 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $35,340 and the top tenth $50,080, so most people doing this work in Washington sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Washington run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $32,857 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $35,670 lands after tax, since there is no state income tax on wages here — though the federal floor is identical in every state.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($35,340 to $50,080) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Washington rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Washington's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $32,857 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Washington levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $35,670 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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.