Medical Transcriptionists in Washington
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$33,267
after federal, FICA and Washington tax
Tax takes
$5,423
14.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,644
Washington costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Washington — 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
$38,690
Kept after tax
$33,267
Worth in national money
$30,644
State rank
30
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Washington sits in the middle of the pack for medical transcriptionists. The median is $38,690, ranking 30 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Washington, this one sits low: 488 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $38,690 the take-home is $33,267. But Washington costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $30,644 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $44,060, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Washington occupies the middle band for medical transcriptionists: a median of $38,690, ranking 30 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Medical transcriptionists occupies position 488 of 493 in Washington's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Washington income tax is $33,267 for medical transcriptionists, from $38,690. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $30,644. ⚠️ 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 $44,060 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Medical Transcriptionists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,780 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,690 |
| Top tenth earn over | $59,920 |
| This salary | $38,690 |
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 Washington | $33,267 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,267 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,591 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $38,690 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,343 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
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 medical transcriptionists in Washington earn under $38,690 and half over. The published range runs $35,780 at the tenth percentile to $59,920 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 Washington's $33,267, worked from $38,690. 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 488 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Washington, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $30,644, the adjusted value of that $38,690 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 488 of 493 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for medical transcriptionists in Washington, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,780 to $59,920; 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 Washington take-home of $33,267, on $38,690 for work ranking 488 of 493 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 488 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Washington, so $30,644 — the adjusted value of that $38,690 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 488 of 493 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 $44,060, 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 $35,780 and the top tenth $59,920, so most people doing this work in Washington sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Washington run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $30,644 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $33,267 survives, because Washington levies no wage income tax. The federal share does not change with the state you work in.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 Washington is $44,060. 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 ($35,780 to $59,920) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Washington rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Washington's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $30,644 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Washington levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $33,267 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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.