Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$96,510
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$40,960
29.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$87,100
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
$137,470
Kept after tax
$96,510
Worth in national money
$87,100
State rank
5
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- District of Columbia is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $137,470, which ranks 5 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 29.85% above the national middle.
- Within District of Columbia this is well-paid work. Of 390 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 33 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $137,470, tax leaves $96,510 — and because District of Columbia is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $87,100 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $140,030, since top earners drag the number up.
- District of Columbia ranks 5 of 51 states publishing a median for education administrators, kindergarten through secondary, at $137,470 — about 29.85% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation District of Columbia publishes a median for, education administrators, kindergarten through secondary sits 33 of 390 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- After tax, $96,510 remains from the District of Columbia median of $137,470 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $87,100 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $140,030 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $100,350 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $137,470 |
| Top tenth earn over | $176,490 |
| This salary | $137,470 |
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 | $96,510 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $105,227 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$21,186 |
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 | $124,717 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$29,710 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 111 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in District of Columbia earn less than $137,470. The published range is $100,350 up to $176,490, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $96,510 take-home in District of Columbia comes from $137,470. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 33 of 390.
- Two cautions on $87,100, the adjusted value of that $137,470 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of District of Columbia. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 33 of 390 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for education administrators, kindergarten through secondary in District of Columbia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $100,350 to $176,490. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $96,510, from $137,470, assumes a single District of Columbia filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 33 of 390 locally, and the state ranks 5 of 51 for it.
- This $87,100 adjusted figure, worked from $137,470, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 33 of 390 in the state. The occupation ranks 33 of 390 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $100,350 at the bottom tenth to $176,490 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $87,100 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and District of Columbia's own levy, $96,510 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($100,350 to $176,490) 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 $87,100 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 $96,510 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.