Database Architects in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$104,015
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$45,995
30.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$93,873
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
$150,010
Kept after tax
$104,015
Worth in national money
$93,873
State rank
7
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- District of Columbia is one of the better-paying states for database architects. The middle earner takes $150,010, which ranks 7 of 46 states with published figures. That is about 7.53% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 390 occupations District of Columbia reports, database architects comes in at 24 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $150,010 the take-home is $104,015. But District of Columbia costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $93,873 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $149,300, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- District of Columbia ranks 7 of 46 states publishing a median for database architects, at $150,010 — about 7.53% 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.
- Database architects ranks 24 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and District of Columbia income tax is $104,015 for database architects, from $150,010. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $93,873. ⚠️ 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 $149,300 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Database Architects
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $82,220 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $150,010 |
| Top tenth earn over | $225,110 |
| This salary | $150,010 |
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 | $104,015 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $113,798 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$23,233 |
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 | $135,698 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$32,893 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 111 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $150,010 as a midpoint for District of Columbia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $82,220 and the ninetieth is $225,110 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In District of Columbia the take-home figure of $104,015, from $150,010, 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 24 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 $93,873 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 24.
- The District of Columbia median of $150,010 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $82,220 to $225,110. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- 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 $104,015 from $150,010. 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 24 of 390 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $93,873, worked from $150,010, 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 24 of 390 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $82,220, the highest tenth $225,110, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $93,873 — 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 $104,015.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 46 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($82,220) and the ninetieth ($225,110) 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 $93,873 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 $104,015 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.