Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$78,009
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$29,041
27.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$70,403
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
$107,050
Kept after tax
$78,009
Worth in national money
$70,403
State rank
2
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. District of Columbia pays zoologists and wildlife biologists a middle wage of $107,050, ranking 2 of 47 states and sitting about 39.42% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 390 occupations District of Columbia reports, zoologists and wildlife biologists comes in at 90 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- District of Columbia is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $107,050 the take-home is $78,009; in national-average money that behaves like $70,403. The average comes to $117,980, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- District of Columbia's median for zoologists and wildlife biologists is $107,050, about 39.42% above the national figure and 2 of 47 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Zoologists and wildlife biologists ranks 90 of 390 occupations by median in District of Columbia, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Take-home for zoologists and wildlife biologists in District of Columbia, on $107,050, is $78,009; deflated by the state's price level, $70,403. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $117,980 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $85,190 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $107,050 |
| Top tenth earn over | $161,470 |
| This salary | $107,050 |
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 | $78,009 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $84,140 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$16,183 |
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 | $98,335 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$22,354 |
| 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 $107,050. The published range is $85,190 up to $161,470, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind District of Columbia's $78,009, worked from $107,050. 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 90 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 $70,403, the adjusted value of that $107,050 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 90 of 390 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for zoologists and wildlife biologists in District of Columbia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $85,190 to $161,470. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The District of Columbia take-home of $78,009, on $107,050 for work ranking 90 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 90 of 390 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for District of Columbia, so $70,403 — the adjusted value of that $107,050 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 90 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 $117,980, 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?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $85,190 and the top tenth $161,470, 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?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $70,403 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, $78,009 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 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 $117,980. 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 ($85,190 to $161,470) 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 $70,403 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 $78,009 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.