Recreation Workers in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,889
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$8,571
18.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,195
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
$46,460
Kept after tax
$37,889
Worth in national money
$34,195
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 recreation workers a middle wage of $46,460, ranking 1 of 51 states and sitting about 27.08% above the national middle.
- Within District of Columbia this is lower-paid work. Of 390 occupations the state publishes figures for, recreation workers ranks 341. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- District of Columbia is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $46,460 the take-home is $37,889; in national-average money that behaves like $34,195. The average comes to $50,330, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- District of Columbia's median for recreation workers is $46,460, about 27.08% 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.
- Against every occupation District of Columbia reports, recreation workers ranks 341 of 390, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Take-home for recreation workers in District of Columbia, on $46,460, is $37,889; deflated by the state's price level, $34,195. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $50,330 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Recreation Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,990 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,460 |
| Top tenth earn over | $66,750 |
| This salary | $46,460 |
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 | $37,889 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,511 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,465 |
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 | $44,442 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,818 |
| 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 $46,460. The published range is $37,990 up to $66,750, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $37,889 take-home in District of Columbia comes from $46,460. 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 341 of 390.
- One number stands for prices across all of District of Columbia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $34,195, the adjusted value of that $46,460 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 341 of 390 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for recreation workers in District of Columbia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,990 to $66,750. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $37,889, from $46,460, 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 341 of 390 locally, and the state ranks 1 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for District of Columbia, so $34,195 — the adjusted value of that $46,460 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 341 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 $50,330, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $37,990 and the top tenth $66,750, 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?
The number and the value are different things. District of Columbia costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $34,195 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; District of Columbia then takes its own share, leaving $37,889.
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.
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 $50,330. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,990 to $66,750) 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 $34,195 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 $37,889 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.