Financial Examiners in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$134,050
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$64,670
32.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$120,979
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
$198,720
Kept after tax
$134,050
Worth in national money
$120,979
State rank
1
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. District of Columbia pays financial examiners a middle wage of $198,720, ranking 1 of 49 states and sitting about 111.05% above the national middle.
- Within District of Columbia this is well-paid work. Of 390 occupations with published figures in the state, financial examiners ranks 2 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $198,720 the take-home is $134,050. But District of Columbia costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $120,979 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $187,240, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- District of Columbia's median for financial examiners is $198,720, about 111.05% above the national figure and 1 of 49 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Ranked against every occupation District of Columbia publishes a median for, financial examiners sits 2 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and District of Columbia income tax is $134,050 for financial examiners, from $198,720. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $120,979. ⚠️ 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 $187,240 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Financial Examiners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $84,050 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $198,720 |
| Top tenth earn over | $256,820 |
| This salary | $198,720 |
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 | $134,050 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $147,973 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$31,295 |
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 | $179,640 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$43,203 |
| 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 $198,720. The published range is $84,050 up to $256,820, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $134,050 take-home in District of Columbia comes from $198,720. 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 2 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 $120,979, the adjusted value of that $198,720 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 2 of 390 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for financial examiners in District of Columbia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $84,050 to $256,820. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $134,050, from $198,720, 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 2 of 390 locally, and the state ranks 1 of 49 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for District of Columbia, so $120,979 — the adjusted value of that $198,720 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 2 of 390 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $187,240 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $84,050 at the bottom tenth to $256,820 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $120,979 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 $134,050 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $187,240. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($84,050) and the ninetieth ($256,820) 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 $120,979 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 $134,050 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.