Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$91,106
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$37,334
29.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$82,223
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
$128,440
Kept after tax
$91,106
Worth in national money
$82,223
State rank
3
of 49 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 $128,440, ranking 3 of 49 states and sitting about 27.03% above the national middle.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in District of Columbia. It ranks 49 out of 390 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $128,440, tax leaves $91,106 — and because District of Columbia is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $82,223 would nationally. Here the average runs under the middle, at $127,830.
- District of Columbia's median for social scientists and related workers, all other is $128,440, about 27.03% above the national figure and 3 of 49 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, social scientists and related workers, all other ranks 49 of 390 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- After tax, $91,106 remains from the District of Columbia median of $128,440 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $82,223 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $127,830 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $83,890 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $128,440 |
| Top tenth earn over | $170,980 |
| This salary | $128,440 |
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 | $91,106 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $99,055 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$19,712 |
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 | $116,952 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$27,417 |
| 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 $128,440. The published range is $83,890 up to $170,980, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $91,106 take-home in District of Columbia comes from $128,440. 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 49 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 $82,223, the adjusted value of that $128,440 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 49 of 390 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for social scientists and related workers, all other in District of Columbia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $83,890 to $170,980. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $91,106, from $128,440, 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 49 of 390 locally, and the state ranks 3 of 49 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for District of Columbia, so $82,223 — the adjusted value of that $128,440 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 49 of 390 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $83,890 at the bottom tenth to $170,980 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $82,223 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, $91,106 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($83,890 to $170,980) 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 $82,223 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 $91,106 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.