Credit Counselors in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,580
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$13,000
20.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,648
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
$63,580
Kept after tax
$50,580
Worth in national money
$45,648
State rank
3
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- District of Columbia is one of the better-paying states for credit counselors. The middle earner takes $63,580, which ranks 3 of 46 states with published figures. That is about 21.73% above the national middle.
- Against other work in District of Columbia, this sits in the middle: 257 of 390 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $63,580 the take-home is $50,580. But District of Columbia costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $45,648 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $75,640, because the best-paid pull it up.
- District of Columbia ranks 3 of 46 states publishing a median for credit counselors, at $63,580 — about 21.73% 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.
- Credit counselors ranks 257 of 390 occupations in District of Columbia by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and District of Columbia income tax is $50,580 for credit counselors, from $63,580. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $45,648. ⚠️ 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 $75,640 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Credit Counselors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $52,080 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $63,580 |
| Top tenth earn over | $100,370 |
| This salary | $63,580 |
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 | $50,580 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,267 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$9,167 |
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 | $60,237 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$11,086 |
| 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 credit counselors in District of Columbia earn under $63,580 and half over. The published range runs $52,080 at the tenth percentile to $100,370 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind District of Columbia's $50,580, worked from $63,580. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 257 of 390.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $45,648 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 257.
- Figures are distribution medians for credit counselors in District of Columbia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $52,080 to $100,370; 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.
- The District of Columbia take-home of $50,580, on $63,580 for work ranking 257 of 390 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 257 of 390 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $45,648, worked from $63,580, 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 257 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 $75,640, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $52,080, the highest tenth $100,370, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $45,648 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 $50,580 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $75,640. 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 ($52,080) and the ninetieth ($100,370) 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 $45,648 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 $50,580 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.