Light Truck Drivers in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,023
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$9,307
18.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,120
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
$49,330
Kept after tax
$40,023
Worth in national money
$36,120
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 light truck drivers. The middle earner takes $49,330, which ranks 2 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 9.96% above the national middle.
- Within District of Columbia this is lower-paid work. Of 390 occupations the state publishes figures for, light truck drivers ranks 320. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $49,330 the take-home is $40,023. But District of Columbia costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $36,120 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $51,920, because the best-paid pull it up.
- District of Columbia ranks 2 of 51 states publishing a median for light truck drivers, at $49,330 — about 9.96% 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.
- Against every occupation District of Columbia reports, light truck drivers ranks 320 of 390, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and District of Columbia income tax is $40,023 for light truck drivers, from $49,330. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $36,120. ⚠️ 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 $51,920 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Light Truck Drivers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,890 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,330 |
| Top tenth earn over | $69,400 |
| This salary | $49,330 |
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 | $40,023 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,817 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,912 |
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 | $47,098 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,359 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 111 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of light truck drivers in District of Columbia earn under $49,330 and half over. The published range runs $37,890 at the tenth percentile to $69,400 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $40,023 take-home in District of Columbia comes from $49,330. 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 320 of 390.
- Two cautions on $36,120, the adjusted value of that $49,330 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 320 of 390 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for light truck drivers in District of Columbia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,890 to $69,400; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $40,023, from $49,330, 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 320 of 390 locally, and the state ranks 2 of 51 for it.
- This $36,120 adjusted figure, worked from $49,330, 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 320 of 390 in the state. The occupation ranks 320 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 $51,920, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $37,890 and the top tenth $69,400, 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 $36,120 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 $40,023.
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 $51,920. 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 ($37,890 to $69,400) 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 $36,120 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 $40,023 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.