Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,435
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$7,725
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,980
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
$43,160
Kept after tax
$35,435
Worth in national money
$31,980
State rank
25
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. District of Columbia pays this job around $43,160 at the midpoint, 25 of 45 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Against 390 occupations District of Columbia publishes, this job lands at 354. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $43,160, tax leaves $35,435 — and because District of Columbia is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $31,980 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $51,390, since top earners drag the number up.
- For teaching assistants, postsecondary the District of Columbia median is $43,160, ranking 25 of 45 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Within District of Columbia, this work ranks 354 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.
- After tax, $35,435 remains from the District of Columbia median of $43,160 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $31,980 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $51,390 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,400 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,160 |
| Top tenth earn over | $73,370 |
| This salary | $43,160 |
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 | $35,435 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,859 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,950 |
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 | $41,388 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,196 |
| 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 $43,160. The published range is $36,400 up to $73,370, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $35,435 take-home in District of Columbia comes from $43,160. 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 354 of 390.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $31,980 uses one figure for the whole of District of Columbia. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 390 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 354.
- Reported values are medians; for teaching assistants, postsecondary in District of Columbia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $36,400 to $73,370. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $35,435, from $43,160, 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 354 of 390 locally, and the state ranks 25 of 45 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $31,980, worked from $43,160, 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 District of Columbia address, on work sitting at 354 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 $51,390, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $36,400 and the top tenth $73,370 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in District of Columbia run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $31,980 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 $35,435.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $51,390. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($36,400) and the ninetieth ($73,370) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $31,980 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 $35,435 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.