Receptionists and Information Clerks in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,822
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$9,238
18.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,939
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
$49,060
Kept after tax
$39,822
Worth in national money
$35,939
State rank
1
of 51 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 $49,060, ranking 1 of 51 states and sitting about 29.07% above the national middle.
- Against 390 occupations District of Columbia publishes, this job lands at 326. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $49,060 the take-home is $39,822. But District of Columbia costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $35,939 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $50,450, because the best-paid pull it up.
- District of Columbia's median for receptionists and information clerks is $49,060, about 29.07% above the national figure and 1 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Within District of Columbia, this work ranks 326 of 390 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and District of Columbia income tax is $39,822 for receptionists and information clerks, from $49,060. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $35,939. ⚠️ 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 $50,450 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: Receptionists and Information Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,050 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,060 |
| Top tenth earn over | $64,270 |
| This salary | $49,060 |
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 | $39,822 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,600 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,870 |
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 | $46,848 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,308 |
| 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 receptionists and information clerks in District of Columbia earn under $49,060 and half over. The published range runs $37,050 at the tenth percentile to $64,270 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $39,822 take-home in District of Columbia comes from $49,060. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 326 of 390.
- Two cautions on $35,939, the adjusted value of that $49,060 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 326 of 390 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for receptionists and information clerks in District of Columbia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,050 to $64,270; 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.
- Retained pay of $39,822, from $49,060, assumes a single District of Columbia filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 326 of 390 locally, and the state ranks 1 of 51 for it.
- This $35,939 adjusted figure, worked from $49,060, 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 326 of 390 in the state. The occupation ranks 326 of 390 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $37,050 and the top tenth $64,270, 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 $35,939 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, $39,822 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 ($37,050 to $64,270) 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 $35,939 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 $39,822 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.