Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$75,077
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$27,233
26.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$67,757
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
$102,310
Kept after tax
$75,077
Worth in national money
$67,757
State rank
9
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. District of Columbia pays this job a middle wage of $102,310, ranking 9 of 45 states and sitting about 4.32% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 390 occupations District of Columbia reports figures for, this is number 111.
- District of Columbia is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $102,310 the take-home is $75,077; in national-average money that behaves like $67,757. The average comes to $103,490, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- District of Columbia's median for political science teachers, postsecondary is $102,310, about 4.32% above the national figure and 9 of 45 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In District of Columbia's occupational distribution, political science teachers, postsecondary sits at 111 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 political science teachers, postsecondary in District of Columbia, on $102,310, is $75,077; deflated by the state's price level, $67,757. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $103,490 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $63,270 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $102,310 |
| Top tenth earn over | $167,860 |
| This salary | $102,310 |
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 | $75,077 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $80,805 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$15,397 |
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 | $94,168 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$21,269 |
| 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 $102,310. The published range is $63,270 up to $167,860, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In District of Columbia the take-home figure of $75,077, from $102,310, 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 111 of 390 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $67,757, the adjusted value of that $102,310 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of District of Columbia. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 111 of 390 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for political science teachers, postsecondary in District of Columbia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $63,270 to $167,860. 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 $75,077 from $102,310. 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 111 of 390 locally.
- This $67,757 adjusted figure, worked from $102,310, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 111 of 390 in the state. The occupation ranks 111 of 390 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $63,270 at the bottom tenth to $167,860 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 $67,757 rather than its face figure.
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 $75,077 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 45 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($63,270) and the ninetieth ($167,860) 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 $67,757 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 $75,077 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.