Dental Hygienists in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$96,361
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$40,859
29.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$86,965
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
$137,220
Kept after tax
$96,361
Worth in national money
$86,965
State rank
1
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. District of Columbia pays dental hygienists a middle wage of $137,220, ranking 1 of 50 states and sitting about 39.88% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 390 occupations District of Columbia reports, dental hygienists comes in at 34 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- District of Columbia is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $137,220 the take-home is $96,361; in national-average money that behaves like $86,965. The average lands at $127,910, below the middle of the range.
- District of Columbia's median for dental hygienists is $137,220, about 39.88% above the national figure and 1 of 50 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Dental hygienists ranks 34 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.
- Take-home for dental hygienists in District of Columbia, on $137,220, is $96,361; deflated by the state's price level, $86,965. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $127,910 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Dental Hygienists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $86,120 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $137,220 |
| Top tenth earn over | $155,840 |
| This salary | $137,220 |
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 | $96,361 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $105,056 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$21,145 |
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 | $124,498 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$29,646 |
| 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 dental hygienists in District of Columbia earn under $137,220 and half over. The published range runs $86,120 at the tenth percentile to $155,840 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 $96,361, worked from $137,220. 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 34 of 390.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $86,965 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 34.
- Figures are distribution medians for dental hygienists in District of Columbia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $86,120 to $155,840; 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 $96,361, on $137,220 for work ranking 34 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 34 of 390 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $86,965, worked from $137,220, 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 34 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 $127,910, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $86,120 and the top tenth $155,840, so most people doing this work in District of Columbia sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $86,965 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 $96,361 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release 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 $127,910. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($86,120 to $155,840) 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 $86,965 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 $96,361 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.