Project Management Specialists in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$76,679
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$28,221
26.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$69,203
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
$104,900
Kept after tax
$76,679
Worth in national money
$69,203
State rank
12
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- District of Columbia is one of the better-paying states for project management specialists. The middle earner takes $104,900, which ranks 12 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 2.52% above the national middle.
- Within District of Columbia this is well-paid work. Of 390 occupations with published figures in the state, project management specialists ranks 97 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $104,900 the take-home is $76,679. But District of Columbia costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $69,203 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $119,530, because the best-paid pull it up.
- District of Columbia ranks 12 of 51 states publishing a median for project management specialists, at $104,900 — about 2.52% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation District of Columbia publishes a median for, project management specialists sits 97 of 390 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and District of Columbia income tax is $76,679 for project management specialists, from $104,900. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $69,203. ⚠️ 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 $119,530 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: Project Management Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $64,080 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $104,900 |
| Top tenth earn over | $194,170 |
| This salary | $104,900 |
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 | $76,679 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $82,627 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$15,827 |
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 | $96,445 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$21,862 |
| 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 $104,900. The published range is $64,080 up to $194,170, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind District of Columbia's $76,679, worked from $104,900. 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 97 of 390.
- Two cautions on $69,203, the adjusted value of that $104,900 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 97 of 390 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for project management specialists in District of Columbia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $64,080 to $194,170. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The District of Columbia take-home of $76,679, on $104,900 for work ranking 97 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 97 of 390 in the state.
- This $69,203 adjusted figure, worked from $104,900, 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 97 of 390 in the state. The occupation ranks 97 of 390 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $119,530, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $64,080 and the top tenth $194,170 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in District of Columbia run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $69,203 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 $76,679 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 $119,530. 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 ($64,080) and the ninetieth ($194,170) 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 $69,203 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 $76,679 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.