Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$57,915
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$16,695
22.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,268
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
$74,610
Kept after tax
$57,915
Worth in national money
$52,268
State rank
13
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- District of Columbia is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $74,610, which ranks 13 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 24.66% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 390 occupations District of Columbia reports figures for, this is number 219.
- District of Columbia is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $74,610 the take-home is $57,915; in national-average money that behaves like $52,268. The average comes to $76,470, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- District of Columbia ranks 13 of 51 states publishing a median for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators, at $74,610 — about 24.66% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- In District of Columbia's occupational distribution, operating engineers and other construction equipment operators sits at 219 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 operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in District of Columbia, on $74,610, is $57,915; deflated by the state's price level, $52,268. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $76,470 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $50,540 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $74,610 |
| Top tenth earn over | $98,270 |
| This salary | $74,610 |
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 | $57,915 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $61,318 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$10,833 |
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 | $69,773 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$14,110 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 111 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $74,610 as a midpoint for District of Columbia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $50,540 and the ninetieth is $98,270 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $57,915 take-home in District of Columbia comes from $74,610. 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 219 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 $52,268, the adjusted value of that $74,610 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 219 of 390 in the state.
- The District of Columbia median of $74,610 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $50,540 to $98,270. 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 $57,915, from $74,610, 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 219 of 390 locally, and the state ranks 13 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for District of Columbia, so $52,268 — the adjusted value of that $74,610 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 219 of 390 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $50,540 at the tenth percentile, $98,270 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. District of Columbia costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $52,268 rather than its face figure.
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, $57,915 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 ($50,540 to $98,270) 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 $52,268 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 $57,915 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.