Physics Teachers, Postsecondary in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$64,489
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$20,701
24.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$58,201
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
$85,190
Kept after tax
$64,489
Worth in national money
$58,201
State rank
39
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for physics teachers, postsecondary is on the low side in District of Columbia. The middle earner gets $85,190. That is 39 of 47 states, and about 15.07% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 390 occupations District of Columbia reports figures for, this is number 165.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $85,190, tax leaves $64,489 — and because District of Columbia is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $58,201 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $93,030, since top earners drag the number up.
- For physics teachers, postsecondary, District of Columbia sits in the lower band at $85,190, ranking 39 of 47 and trailing the national median by about 15.07%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In District of Columbia's occupational distribution, physics teachers, postsecondary sits at 165 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.
- After tax, $64,489 remains from the District of Columbia median of $85,190 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $58,201 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $93,030 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Physics Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $63,260 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $85,190 |
| Top tenth earn over | $130,370 |
| This salary | $85,190 |
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 | $64,489 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $68,761 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$12,560 |
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 | $79,117 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$17,349 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 111 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $85,190 as a midpoint for District of Columbia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $63,260 and the ninetieth is $130,370 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind District of Columbia's $64,489, worked from $85,190. 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 165 of 390.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $58,201 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 165.
- The District of Columbia median of $85,190 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $63,260 to $130,370. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The District of Columbia take-home of $64,489, on $85,190 for work ranking 165 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 165 of 390 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $58,201, worked from $85,190, 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 165 of 390 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $93,030 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $63,260 at the bottom tenth to $130,370 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $58,201 rather than its face figure.
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 $64,489.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $93,030. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($63,260) and the ninetieth ($130,370) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $58,201 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 $64,489 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.