Receptionists and Information Clerks in Washington
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,104
after federal, FICA and Washington tax
Tax takes
$6,606
14.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,099
Washington costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Washington — 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
$44,710
Kept after tax
$38,104
Worth in national money
$35,099
State rank
3
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Washington's middle earner gets $44,710, putting the state 3 of 51 — about 17.63% ahead of the national figure.
- Measured against other jobs in Washington, this one sits low: 449 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Washington is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $44,710 the take-home is $38,104; in national-average money that behaves like $35,099. The average comes to $45,690, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For receptionists and information clerks, Washington sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $44,710, ranking 3 of 51 and running about 17.63% 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.
- Receptionists and information clerks occupies position 449 of 493 in Washington's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Take-home for receptionists and information clerks in Washington, on $44,710, is $38,104; deflated by the state's price level, $35,099. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $45,690 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Receptionists and Information Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,730 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,710 |
| Top tenth earn over | $57,840 |
| This salary | $44,710 |
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 Washington | $38,104 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,104 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,113 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $44,710 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,974 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
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 Washington earn under $44,710 and half over. The published range runs $36,730 at the tenth percentile to $57,840 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $38,104 take-home in Washington comes from $44,710. 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 449 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $35,099 uses one figure for the whole of Washington. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 449.
- Figures are distribution medians for receptionists and information clerks in Washington, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,730 to $57,840; 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 $38,104, from $44,710, assumes a single Washington 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 449 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 3 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $35,099, worked from $44,710, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Washington address, on work sitting at 449 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $36,730 at the tenth percentile, $57,840 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Washington run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $35,099 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $38,104 survives, because Washington levies no wage income tax. The federal share does not change with the state you work in.
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 ($36,730 to $57,840) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Washington rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Washington's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $35,099 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Washington levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $38,104 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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.