Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$59,151
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$17,409
22.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,383
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
$76,560
Kept after tax
$59,151
Worth in national money
$53,383
State rank
6
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- District of Columbia is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $76,560, which ranks 6 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 21.66% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 390 occupations District of Columbia reports figures for, this is number 209.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $76,560, tax leaves $59,151 — and because District of Columbia is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $53,383 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $81,650, since top earners drag the number up.
- District of Columbia ranks 6 of 51 states publishing a median for clinical laboratory technologists and technicians, at $76,560 — about 21.66% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- In District of Columbia's occupational distribution, clinical laboratory technologists and technicians sits at 209 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.
- After tax, $59,151 remains from the District of Columbia median of $76,560 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $53,383 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $81,650 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,470 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $76,560 |
| Top tenth earn over | $126,300 |
| This salary | $76,560 |
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 | $59,151 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $62,690 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$11,129 |
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 | $71,529 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$14,712 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 111 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $76,560 as a midpoint for District of Columbia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $47,470 and the ninetieth is $126,300 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $59,151 take-home in District of Columbia comes from $76,560. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 209 of 390.
- Two cautions on $53,383, the adjusted value of that $76,560 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of District of Columbia. 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 209 of 390 locally.
- The District of Columbia median of $76,560 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $47,470 to $126,300. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $59,151, from $76,560, assumes a single District of Columbia filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 209 of 390 locally, and the state ranks 6 of 51 for it.
- This $53,383 adjusted figure, worked from $76,560, 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 209 of 390 in the state. The occupation ranks 209 of 390 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $81,650 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $47,470 at the bottom tenth to $126,300 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $53,383 — 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 $59,151.
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 $81,650. 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 ($47,470) and the ninetieth ($126,300) 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 $53,383 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 $59,151 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.