Occupational Therapy Assistants in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$52,656
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$13,734
20.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$47,521
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
$66,390
Kept after tax
$52,656
Worth in national money
$47,521
State rank
28
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. District of Columbia pays this job around $66,390 at the midpoint, 28 of 50 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 390 occupations District of Columbia reports figures for, this is number 243.
- District of Columbia is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $66,390 the take-home is $52,656; in national-average money that behaves like $47,521. The average comes to $71,110, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For occupational therapy assistants the District of Columbia median is $66,390, ranking 28 of 50 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In District of Columbia's occupational distribution, occupational therapy assistants sits at 243 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.
- Take-home for occupational therapy assistants in District of Columbia, on $66,390, is $52,656; deflated by the state's price level, $47,521. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $71,110 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Occupational Therapy Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $57,450 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $66,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $85,660 |
| This salary | $66,390 |
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 | $52,656 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $55,524 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$9,617 |
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 | $62,820 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$11,631 |
| 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 occupational therapy assistants in District of Columbia earn under $66,390 and half over. The published range runs $57,450 at the tenth percentile to $85,660 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In District of Columbia the take-home figure of $52,656, from $66,390, 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 243 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 $47,521, the adjusted value of that $66,390 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 243 of 390 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for occupational therapy assistants in District of Columbia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $57,450 to $85,660; 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 $52,656 from $66,390. 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 243 of 390 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for District of Columbia, so $47,521 — the adjusted value of that $66,390 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 243 of 390 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 $71,110, 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?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $57,450 at the tenth percentile, $85,660 at the ninetieth.
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 $47,521 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; District of Columbia then takes its own share, leaving $52,656.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release 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 $71,110. 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 ($57,450 to $85,660) 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 $47,521 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 $52,656 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.