Office Clerks, General in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$44,268
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$10,772
19.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,952
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
$55,040
Kept after tax
$44,268
Worth in national money
$39,952
State rank
1
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. District of Columbia pays office clerks, general a middle wage of $55,040, ranking 1 of 51 states and sitting about 22.28% above the national middle.
- Within District of Columbia this is lower-paid work. Of 390 occupations the state publishes figures for, office clerks, general ranks 305. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- District of Columbia is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $55,040 the take-home is $44,268; in national-average money that behaves like $39,952. The average comes to $57,730, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- District of Columbia's median for office clerks, general is $55,040, about 22.28% above the national figure and 1 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.
- Against every occupation District of Columbia reports, office clerks, general ranks 305 of 390, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Take-home for office clerks, general in District of Columbia, on $55,040, is $44,268; deflated by the state's price level, $39,952. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $57,730 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Office Clerks, General
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,350 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $55,040 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,960 |
| This salary | $55,040 |
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 | $44,268 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $46,405 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,802 |
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 | $52,381 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,436 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 111 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in District of Columbia earn less than $55,040. The published range is $39,350 up to $75,960, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In District of Columbia the take-home figure of $44,268, from $55,040, 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 305 of 390 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $39,952 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 305.
- Reported values are medians; for office clerks, general in District of Columbia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $39,350 to $75,960. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- 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 $44,268 from $55,040. 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 305 of 390 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $39,952, worked from $55,040, 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 305 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 $57,730, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $39,350 at the tenth percentile, $75,960 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 $39,952 of national purchasing power.
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 $44,268 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 $57,730. 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 ($39,350 to $75,960) 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 $39,952 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 $44,268 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.