Manicurists and Pedicurists in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,573
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$6,047
16.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$27,592
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
$36,620
Kept after tax
$30,573
Worth in national money
$27,592
State rank
22
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- District of Columbia sits in the middle of the pack for manicurists and pedicurists. The median is $36,620, ranking 22 of 49 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Within District of Columbia this is lower-paid work. Of 390 occupations the state publishes figures for, manicurists and pedicurists ranks 390. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- District of Columbia is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $36,620 the take-home is $30,573; in national-average money that behaves like $27,592. The average comes to $41,370, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- District of Columbia occupies the middle band for manicurists and pedicurists: a median of $36,620, ranking 22 of 49. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Against every occupation District of Columbia reports, manicurists and pedicurists ranks 390 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.
- Take-home for manicurists and pedicurists in District of Columbia, on $36,620, is $30,573; deflated by the state's price level, $27,592. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $41,370 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Manicurists and Pedicurists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,400 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,620 |
| Top tenth earn over | $50,620 |
| This salary | $36,620 |
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 | $30,573 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,604 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,931 |
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 | $35,337 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,964 |
| 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 $36,620. The published range is $36,400 up to $50,620, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind District of Columbia's $30,573, worked from $36,620. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 390 of 390.
- Two cautions on $27,592, the adjusted value of that $36,620 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 390 of 390 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for manicurists and pedicurists in District of Columbia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $36,400 to $50,620. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The District of Columbia take-home of $30,573, on $36,620 for work ranking 390 of 390 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 390 of 390 in the state.
- This $27,592 adjusted figure, worked from $36,620, 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 390 of 390 in the state. The occupation ranks 390 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 $41,370 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $36,400 at the tenth percentile, $50,620 at the ninetieth.
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 $27,592 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 $30,573 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $41,370. 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 ($36,400 to $50,620) 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 $27,592 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 $30,573 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.