Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,443
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$6,347
16.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,377
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
$37,790
Kept after tax
$31,443
Worth in national money
$28,377
State rank
4
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for laundry and dry-cleaning workers is strong here. District of Columbia's middle earner gets $37,790, putting the state 4 of 51 — about 8.31% ahead of the national figure.
- Against 390 occupations District of Columbia publishes, laundry and dry-cleaning workers lands at 386. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- District of Columbia is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $37,790 the take-home is $31,443; in national-average money that behaves like $28,377. The average comes to $41,690, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For laundry and dry-cleaning workers, District of Columbia sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $37,790, ranking 4 of 51 and running about 8.31% 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.
- Within District of Columbia, this work ranks 386 of 390 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Take-home for laundry and dry-cleaning workers in District of Columbia, on $37,790, is $31,443; deflated by the state's price level, $28,377. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $41,690 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,700 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,790 |
| Top tenth earn over | $57,980 |
| This salary | $37,790 |
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 | $31,443 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,544 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,113 |
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 | $36,419 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,184 |
| 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 $37,790. The published range is $36,700 up to $57,980, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $31,443 take-home in District of Columbia comes from $37,790. 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 386 of 390.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $28,377 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 386.
- Reported values are medians; for laundry and dry-cleaning workers in District of Columbia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $36,700 to $57,980. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $31,443, from $37,790, 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 386 of 390 locally, and the state ranks 4 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $28,377, worked from $37,790, 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 386 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 $41,690, 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 $36,700 and the top tenth $57,980, 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 $28,377 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 $31,443.
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.
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 $41,690. 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 ($36,700 to $57,980) 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 $28,377 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 $31,443 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.