District of Columbia · BLS May 2025
Also called sales associate, retail worker. SOC 41-2031.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 4,660 retail salespersons working in District of Columbia. Here is what they are paid, what the median leaves after federal, state and FICA tax, and what that is worth against local prices.
Median pay · District of Columbia
$38,500A year, or $18.51 an hour.| Percentile | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentileEntry and lowest-paid | $36,400 | $17.50 |
| 25th percentile | $37,820 | $18.18 |
| MedianHalf earn more, half less | $38,500 | $18.51 |
| 75th percentile | $44,230 | $21.26 |
| 90th percentileMost experienced and senior | $49,530 | $23.81 |
| MeanThe average, pulled up by the top | $42,380 | $20.38 |
Method occupation-wage-v1Data bls-oews-2025-05-v1, us-tax-2026-v1, bea-rpp-2024-v1, census-acs5-2024-v1
A $38,500 salary in District of Columbia, for one single filer taking the standard deduction in 2026.
Prices in District of Columbia sit at 109.9 against a national average of 100, so $38,500 earned here buys what $35,032 buys at national average prices.
Common questions
The median wage for retail salespersons in District of Columbia is $38,500 a year, or $18.51 an hour.
Half earn more than that and half earn less. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage survey for May 2025.
On the median wage of $38,500, one filer taking the standard deduction keeps about $31,905 a year, or roughly $2,659 a month.
That is after federal, state and FICA tax, an effective rate of 17.1%.
District of Columbia takes $1,210 of it in state income tax.
Yes. The median in District of Columbia is 8.7% above the national median of $35,410.
Nominal pay is only half the comparison: prices in District of Columbia sit at 109.9 against a national 100, so the gap in what the money buys is different from the gap in the salary.
It is 0.35 times the median household income of $109,870. A household often has more than one earner, so a single salary at this level goes further than the ratio alone suggests.
Prices in District of Columbia run at 109.9 against a national average of 100, with rents at 155, so $38,500 here buys about what $35,032 buys at national average prices.
The top tenth earn $49,530 a year or more, against $36,400 at the bottom tenth.
Experience, specialism, employer and the part of District of Columbia someone works in all move a wage inside that range; the survey reports the spread, not the reason for it.
The survey counted 4,660 of these jobs in District of Columbia for May 2025.
That makes the occupation 74% less concentrated here than in the country as a whole. It counts wage and salary jobs, so the self-employed are outside it.
Sources