Social Workers, All Other in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$71,410
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$24,970
25.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$64,447
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
$96,380
Kept after tax
$71,410
Worth in national money
$64,447
State rank
9
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for social workers, all other is strong here. District of Columbia's middle earner gets $96,380, putting the state 9 of 50 — about 34.05% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 390 occupations District of Columbia reports figures for, this is number 141.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $96,380, tax leaves $71,410 — and because District of Columbia is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $64,447 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $100,760, since top earners drag the number up.
- For social workers, all other, District of Columbia sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $96,380, ranking 9 of 50 and running about 34.05% 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.
- In District of Columbia's occupational distribution, social workers, all other sits at 141 of 390 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After tax, $71,410 remains from the District of Columbia median of $96,380 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $64,447 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $100,760 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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: Social Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $71,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $96,380 |
| Top tenth earn over | $131,770 |
| This salary | $96,380 |
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 | $71,410 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $76,633 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$14,414 |
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 | $88,955 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$19,911 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 111 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $96,380 as a midpoint for District of Columbia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $71,060 and the ninetieth is $131,770 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind District of Columbia's $71,410, worked from $96,380. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 141 of 390.
- Two cautions on $64,447, the adjusted value of that $96,380 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 141 of 390 locally.
- The District of Columbia median of $96,380 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $71,060 to $131,770. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The District of Columbia take-home of $71,410, on $96,380 for work ranking 141 of 390 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 141 of 390 in the state.
- This $64,447 adjusted figure, worked from $96,380, 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 141 of 390 in the state. The occupation ranks 141 of 390 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $100,760, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $71,060 at the bottom tenth to $131,770 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 $64,447 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and District of Columbia adds its own income tax on top — which is why $71,410 of this wage survives to your account.
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 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $100,760. 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 ($71,060 to $131,770) 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 $64,447 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 $71,410 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.