Lawyers in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$131,718
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$63,472
32.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$118,875
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
$195,190
Kept after tax
$131,718
Worth in national money
$118,875
State rank
2
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- District of Columbia is one of the better-paying states for lawyers. The middle earner takes $195,190, which ranks 2 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 22.25% above the national middle.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in District of Columbia. It ranks 5 out of 390 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- District of Columbia is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $195,190 the take-home is $131,718; in national-average money that behaves like $118,875. The average comes to $242,800, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- District of Columbia ranks 2 of 51 states publishing a median for lawyers, at $195,190 — about 22.25% 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.
- Within District of Columbia, lawyers ranks 5 of 390 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Take-home for lawyers in District of Columbia, on $195,190, is $131,718; deflated by the state's price level, $118,875. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $242,800 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Lawyers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $120,580 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $195,190 |
| Top tenth earn over | $392,750 |
| This salary | $195,190 |
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 | $131,718 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $145,341 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$30,691 |
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 | $176,229 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$42,665 |
| 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 $195,190. The published range is $120,580 up to $392,750, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In District of Columbia the take-home figure of $131,718, from $195,190, 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 5 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 $118,875 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 5.
- Reported values are medians; for lawyers in District of Columbia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $120,580 to $392,750. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- 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 $131,718 from $195,190. 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 5 of 390 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $118,875, worked from $195,190, 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 5 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 $242,800, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $120,580, the highest tenth $392,750, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $118,875 rather than its face figure.
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 $131,718.
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 $242,800. 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 ($120,580) and the ninetieth ($392,750) 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 $118,875 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 $131,718 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.