Driver/Sales Workers in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,276
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$7,324
17.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,934
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
$41,600
Kept after tax
$34,276
Worth in national money
$30,934
State rank
12
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- District of Columbia is one of the better-paying states for driver/sales workers. The middle earner takes $41,600, which ranks 12 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 7.3% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in District of Columbia, this one sits low: 362 of 390 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- District of Columbia is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $41,600 the take-home is $34,276; in national-average money that behaves like $30,934. The average comes to $45,430, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- District of Columbia ranks 12 of 51 states publishing a median for driver/sales workers, at $41,600 — about 7.3% 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.
- Driver/sales workers occupies position 362 of 390 in District of Columbia's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Take-home for driver/sales workers in District of Columbia, on $41,600, is $34,276; deflated by the state's price level, $30,934. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $45,430 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Driver/Sales Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,400 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $41,600 |
| Top tenth earn over | $57,650 |
| This salary | $41,600 |
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 | $34,276 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $35,606 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,707 |
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 | $39,945 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,902 |
| 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 driver/sales workers in District of Columbia earn under $41,600 and half over. The published range runs $36,400 at the tenth percentile to $57,650 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In District of Columbia the take-home figure of $34,276, from $41,600, 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 362 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 $30,934 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 362.
- Figures are distribution medians for driver/sales workers in District of Columbia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,400 to $57,650; 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.
- 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 $34,276 from $41,600. 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 362 of 390 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $30,934, worked from $41,600, 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 362 of 390 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $45,430, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $36,400 and the top tenth $57,650, 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 $30,934 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 $34,276 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
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 $45,430. 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 ($36,400 to $57,650) 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 $30,934 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 $34,276 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.