Real Estate Sales Agents in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$88,311
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$35,459
28.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$79,700
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
$123,770
Kept after tax
$88,311
Worth in national money
$79,700
State rank
1
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for real estate sales agents is strong here. District of Columbia's middle earner gets $123,770, putting the state 1 of 48 — about 134.28% ahead of the national figure.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 390 occupations District of Columbia reports, real estate sales agents comes in at 59 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $123,770 the take-home is $88,311. But District of Columbia costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $79,700 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $99,500, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For real estate sales agents, District of Columbia sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $123,770, ranking 1 of 48 and running about 134.28% 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.
- Real estate sales agents ranks 59 of 390 occupations by median in District of Columbia, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and District of Columbia income tax is $88,311 for real estate sales agents, from $123,770. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $79,700. ⚠️ 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 $99,500 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Real Estate Sales Agents
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,450 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $123,770 |
| Top tenth earn over | $129,760 |
| This salary | $123,770 |
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 | $88,311 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $95,863 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$18,950 |
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 | $112,979 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$26,231 |
| 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 real estate sales agents in District of Columbia earn under $123,770 and half over. The published range runs $38,450 at the tenth percentile to $129,760 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In District of Columbia the take-home figure of $88,311, from $123,770, 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 59 of 390 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of District of Columbia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $79,700, the adjusted value of that $123,770 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 59 of 390 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for real estate sales agents in District of Columbia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $38,450 to $129,760; 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.
- 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 $88,311 from $123,770. 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 59 of 390 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for District of Columbia, so $79,700 — the adjusted value of that $123,770 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 59 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 $99,500, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $38,450 at the bottom tenth to $129,760 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 $79,700 rather than its face figure.
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, $88,311 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 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 $99,500. 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 ($38,450) and the ninetieth ($129,760) 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 $79,700 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 $88,311 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.