Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All Other in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,802
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$18,428
23.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,874
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
$79,230
Kept after tax
$60,802
Worth in national money
$54,874
State rank
2
of 50 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 $79,230, which ranks 2 of 50 states with published figures. That is about 27.22% above the national middle.
- Against other work in District of Columbia, this sits in the middle: 192 of 390 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- District of Columbia is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $79,230 the take-home is $60,802; in national-average money that behaves like $54,874. The average comes to $79,720, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- District of Columbia ranks 2 of 50 states publishing a median for life, physical, and social science technicians, all other, at $79,230 — about 27.22% 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.
- Life, physical, and social science technicians, all other ranks 192 of 390 occupations in District of Columbia by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Take-home for life, physical, and social science technicians, all other in District of Columbia, on $79,230, is $60,802; deflated by the state's price level, $54,874. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $79,720 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $52,610 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $79,230 |
| Top tenth earn over | $102,460 |
| This salary | $79,230 |
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 | $60,802 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,568 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$11,572 |
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 | $73,877 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$15,579 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 111 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $79,230 as a midpoint for District of Columbia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $52,610 and the ninetieth is $102,460 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $60,802 take-home in District of Columbia comes from $79,230. 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 192 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 $54,874, the adjusted value of that $79,230 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 192 of 390 in the state.
- The District of Columbia median of $79,230 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $52,610 to $102,460. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $60,802, from $79,230, 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 192 of 390 locally, and the state ranks 2 of 50 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for District of Columbia, so $54,874 — the adjusted value of that $79,230 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 192 of 390 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $52,610 and the top tenth $102,460, 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?
Not on its own. Prices in District of Columbia run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $54,874 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 $60,802.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($52,610 to $102,460) 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 $54,874 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 $60,802 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.