Detectives and Criminal Investigators in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$110,449
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$50,311
31.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$99,680
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
$160,760
Kept after tax
$110,449
Worth in national money
$99,680
State rank
1
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. District of Columbia's middle earner gets $160,760, putting the state 1 of 51 — about 71.4% ahead of the national figure.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 390 occupations District of Columbia reports, this job comes in at 17 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $160,760 the take-home is $110,449. But District of Columbia costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $99,680 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $148,110, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For detectives and criminal investigators, District of Columbia sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $160,760, ranking 1 of 51 and running about 71.4% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Detectives and criminal investigators ranks 17 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 $110,449 for detectives and criminal investigators, from $160,760. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $99,680. ⚠️ 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 $148,110 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Detectives and Criminal Investigators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $94,220 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $160,760 |
| Top tenth earn over | $195,190 |
| This salary | $160,760 |
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 | $110,449 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $121,145 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$24,987 |
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 | $145,111 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$35,525 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 111 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $160,760 as a midpoint for District of Columbia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $94,220 and the ninetieth is $195,190 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind District of Columbia's $110,449, worked from $160,760. 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 17 of 390.
- One number stands for prices across all of District of Columbia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $99,680, the adjusted value of that $160,760 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 17 of 390 in the state.
- The District of Columbia median of $160,760 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $94,220 to $195,190. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The District of Columbia take-home of $110,449, on $160,760 for work ranking 17 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 17 of 390 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for District of Columbia, so $99,680 — the adjusted value of that $160,760 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 17 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 $148,110, 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 $94,220 and the top tenth $195,190, 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?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $99,680 of national purchasing power.
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 $110,449.
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 $148,110. 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 ($94,220 to $195,190) 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 $99,680 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 $110,449 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.