Occupational Therapists in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$79,320
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$29,850
27.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$71,586
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
$109,170
Kept after tax
$79,320
Worth in national money
$71,586
State rank
4
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. District of Columbia pays occupational therapists a middle wage of $109,170, ranking 4 of 51 states and sitting about 8.81% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 390 occupations District of Columbia reports, occupational therapists comes in at 80 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $109,170 the take-home is $79,320. But District of Columbia costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $71,586 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $110,850, because the best-paid pull it up.
- District of Columbia's median for occupational therapists is $109,170, about 8.81% above the national figure and 4 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Occupational therapists ranks 80 of 390 occupations by median in District of Columbia, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and District of Columbia income tax is $79,320 for occupational therapists, from $109,170. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $71,586. ⚠️ 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 $110,850 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Occupational Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $81,760 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $109,170 |
| Top tenth earn over | $129,810 |
| This salary | $109,170 |
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 | $79,320 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $85,631 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$16,535 |
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 | $100,199 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$22,839 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 111 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $109,170 as a midpoint for District of Columbia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $81,760 and the ninetieth is $129,810 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $79,320 take-home in District of Columbia comes from $109,170. 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 80 of 390.
- One number stands for prices across all of District of Columbia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $71,586, the adjusted value of that $109,170 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 80 of 390 in the state.
- The District of Columbia median of $109,170 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $81,760 to $129,810. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $79,320, from $109,170, 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 80 of 390 locally, and the state ranks 4 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for District of Columbia, so $71,586 — the adjusted value of that $109,170 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 80 of 390 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $81,760 at the bottom tenth to $129,810 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $71,586 of national purchasing power.
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, $79,320 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($81,760 to $129,810) 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 $71,586 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 $79,320 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.