Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,217
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$18,683
23.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$55,248
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
$79,900
Kept after tax
$61,217
Worth in national money
$55,248
State rank
7
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. District of Columbia's middle earner gets $79,900, putting the state 7 of 51 — about 24.13% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 390 occupations District of Columbia reports figures for, this is number 190.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $79,900 the take-home is $61,217. But District of Columbia costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $55,248 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $84,060, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education, District of Columbia sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $79,900, ranking 7 of 51 and running about 24.13% 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.
- In District of Columbia's occupational distribution, middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education sits at 190 of 390 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and District of Columbia income tax is $61,217 for middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education, from $79,900. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $55,248. ⚠️ 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 $84,060 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $59,860 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $79,900 |
| Top tenth earn over | $108,730 |
| This salary | $79,900 |
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 | $61,217 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,040 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$11,683 |
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 | $74,466 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$15,797 |
| 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 middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education in District of Columbia earn under $79,900 and half over. The published range runs $59,860 at the tenth percentile to $108,730 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In District of Columbia the take-home figure of $61,217, from $79,900, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 190 of 390 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of District of Columbia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $55,248, the adjusted value of that $79,900 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 190 of 390 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education in District of Columbia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $59,860 to $108,730; 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.
- Take-home for District of Columbia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $61,217 from $79,900. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 190 of 390 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for District of Columbia, so $55,248 — the adjusted value of that $79,900 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 190 of 390 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $84,060, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $59,860 and the top tenth $108,730, 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 $55,248 — 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 $61,217 of this wage survives to your account.
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 $84,060. 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 ($59,860 to $108,730) 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 $55,248 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 $61,217 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.