Mechanical Engineers in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$94,015
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$39,285
29.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$84,848
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
$133,300
Kept after tax
$94,015
Worth in national money
$84,848
State rank
2
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for mechanical engineers is strong here. District of Columbia's middle earner gets $133,300, putting the state 2 of 51 — about 28.04% ahead of the national figure.
- Within District of Columbia this is well-paid work. Of 390 occupations with published figures in the state, mechanical engineers ranks 43 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $133,300 the take-home is $94,015. But District of Columbia costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $84,848 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $138,500, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For mechanical engineers, District of Columbia sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $133,300, ranking 2 of 51 and running about 28.04% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation District of Columbia publishes a median for, mechanical engineers sits 43 of 390 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and District of Columbia income tax is $94,015 for mechanical engineers, from $133,300. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $84,848. ⚠️ 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 $138,500 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Mechanical Engineers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $86,820 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $133,300 |
| Top tenth earn over | $195,190 |
| This salary | $133,300 |
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 | $94,015 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $102,377 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$20,505 |
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 | $121,087 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$28,651 |
| 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 mechanical engineers in District of Columbia earn under $133,300 and half over. The published range runs $86,820 at the tenth percentile to $195,190 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind District of Columbia's $94,015, worked from $133,300. 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 43 of 390.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $84,848 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 43.
- Figures are distribution medians for mechanical engineers in District of Columbia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $86,820 to $195,190; 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.
- The District of Columbia take-home of $94,015, on $133,300 for work ranking 43 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 43 of 390 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $84,848, worked from $133,300, 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 43 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 $138,500 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $86,820 and the top tenth $195,190 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $84,848 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and District of Columbia's own levy, $94,015 remains.
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 $138,500. 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 ($86,820) and the ninetieth ($195,190) 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 $84,848 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 $94,015 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.