Paramedics in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,382
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$18,168
23.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,494
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
$78,550
Kept after tax
$60,382
Worth in national money
$54,494
State rank
4
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for paramedics is strong here. District of Columbia's middle earner gets $78,550, putting the state 4 of 51 — about 29.62% ahead of the national figure.
- Against other work in District of Columbia, this sits in the middle: 199 of 390 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $78,550 the take-home is $60,382. But District of Columbia costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $54,494 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $82,440, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For paramedics, District of Columbia sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $78,550, ranking 4 of 51 and running about 29.62% 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.
- Paramedics ranks 199 of 390 occupations in District of Columbia by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and District of Columbia income tax is $60,382 for paramedics, from $78,550. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $54,494. ⚠️ 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 $82,440 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: Paramedics
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $62,980 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $78,550 |
| Top tenth earn over | $96,640 |
| This salary | $78,550 |
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 | $60,382 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,090 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$11,459 |
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 | $73,279 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$15,358 |
| 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 paramedics in District of Columbia earn under $78,550 and half over. The published range runs $62,980 at the tenth percentile to $96,640 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind District of Columbia's $60,382, worked from $78,550. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 199 of 390.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $54,494 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 199.
- Figures are distribution medians for paramedics in District of Columbia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $62,980 to $96,640; 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.
- The District of Columbia take-home of $60,382, on $78,550 for work ranking 199 of 390 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 199 of 390 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $54,494, worked from $78,550, 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 199 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 $82,440, 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 $62,980 and the top tenth $96,640, 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?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $54,494 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 $60,382 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
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 $82,440. 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 ($62,980 to $96,640) 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 $54,494 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 $60,382 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.