Postal Service Mail Carriers in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,075
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$13,175
20.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,095
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
$64,250
Kept after tax
$51,075
Worth in national money
$46,095
State rank
1
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- District of Columbia is one of the better-paying states for postal service mail carriers. The middle earner takes $64,250, which ranks 1 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 6.11% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 390 occupations District of Columbia reports figures for, this is number 253.
- District of Columbia is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $64,250 the take-home is $51,075; in national-average money that behaves like $46,095. The average comes to $65,030, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- District of Columbia ranks 1 of 51 states publishing a median for postal service mail carriers, at $64,250 — about 6.11% 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, postal service mail carriers sits at 253 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 postal service mail carriers in District of Columbia, on $64,250, is $51,075; deflated by the state's price level, $46,095. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $65,030 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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: Postal Service Mail Carriers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,160 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $64,250 |
| Top tenth earn over | $81,040 |
| This salary | $64,250 |
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 | $51,075 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,805 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$9,274 |
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 | $60,853 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$11,216 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 111 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $64,250 as a midpoint for District of Columbia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $44,160 and the ninetieth is $81,040 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In District of Columbia the take-home figure of $51,075, from $64,250, 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 253 of 390 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $46,095, the adjusted value of that $64,250 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 253 of 390 locally.
- The District of Columbia median of $64,250 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $44,160 to $81,040. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- 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 $51,075 from $64,250. 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 253 of 390 locally.
- This $46,095 adjusted figure, worked from $64,250, 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 253 of 390 in the state. The occupation ranks 253 of 390 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $44,160 and the top tenth $81,040, 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 $46,095 of national purchasing power.
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, $51,075 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 ($44,160 to $81,040) 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 $46,095 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 $51,075 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.