Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Salaries
Highest published occupation medians in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV - BLS OEWS May 2025
Observed metro pay change
What changed, BLS OEWS 2024–2025
- BLS's published All Occupations median in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV moved from $68,430 in May 2024 to $71,060 in May 2025 (+3.8%).
- Across the 393 metros priced in both releases, the median place changed +3.1%.
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV sits +0.7 pp ahead of that median, nominal dollars, no price deflator applied.
Based on wage level, year-over-year wage growth, and regional-price-parity-adjusted purchasing power from BLS and BEA sources, not job availability, industry mix, or day-to-day livability.
Legal Support Workers, All Other shows the widest metro-area vs national median gap in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Legal Support Workers, All Other publishes $169,690 here versus $72,110 nationally (+135.3%; 6,430metro-area jobs). Next is Health Education Specialists at $124,590 locally versus $64,070 nationally (+94.5%).
- Legal Support Workers, All Other$169,690 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV sits 135.3% above the national Legal Support Workers, All Other median of $72,110 (6,430 published local jobs).
- Health Education Specialists$124,590 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV sits 94.5% above the national Health Education Specialists median of $64,070 (2,100 published local jobs).
- Detectives and Criminal Investigators$156,750 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV sits 67.1% above the national Detectives and Criminal Investigators median of $93,790 (4,830 published local jobs).
- News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists$101,020 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV sits 62.4% above the national News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists median of $62,200 (2,390 published local jobs).
Legal Support Workers, All Other and the other occupations above are descriptive OEWS endpoints for Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV; they are not findings about taxes, employers, or worker experience.
BLS OEWS metro wage desk
MSA 47900 · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV $91K mean
MEAN-MEGA · RPP-ELEV · OCC-FULL · TOP-LEAD · EMP-HEAVY · TREND-INLINE · PHOTO-FINISH · BOOK-FULL
- MEAN-MEGA #4/528
- RPP-ELEV 108.9
- OCC-FULL 704 occs
- TOP-LEAD Radiologists · $443K
- EMP-HEAVY Lawyers
- TREND-INLINE +0.7 pp
- PHOTO-FINISH Seattle-Tacoma-B…
- BOOK-FULL 680 rows · May 2025
Read with Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (+$590 on published-row mean) · Highest-paying careers
Instrument codes from this MSA’s OEWS published-row mean, BEA RPP, occupation book, employment lead, All Occupations pay change, and nearest peer, not a moving recommendation.
Published-row mean neighbourhood around Washington-Arlington-Alexan…
Employment scale inside Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV's top-pay list
Lawyers and Financial Managers lead published employment inside Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV's top-pay sample, order follows OEWS job counts, not median wage.
- 1. Lawyers 46,840 jobs · $195,190
- 2. Financial Managers 26,430 jobs · $185,270
- 3. Computer and Information Systems Managers 20,800 jobs · $195,190
- 4. Physicians, All Other 10,650 jobs · $208,710
- 5. Public Relations Managers 9,470 jobs · $195,190
- 6. Marketing Managers 8,900 jobs · $181,260
- 7. Sales Managers 8,780 jobs · $175,820
- 8. Human Resources Managers 6,280 jobs · $177,960
- 9. Architectural and Engineering Managers 5,500 jobs · $185,220
- 10. Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers 5,100 jobs · $209,750
- 11. Dentists, General 3,040 jobs · $184,540
- 12. Family Medicine Physicians 1,470 jobs · $225,140
- 13. General Internal Medicine Physicians 1,370 jobs · $223,250
- 14. Nuclear Engineers 840 jobs · $180,360
- 15. Psychiatrists 550 jobs · $246,990
- 16. Nurse Anesthetists 440 jobs · $223,150
- 17. Surgeons, All Other 340 jobs · $224,860
- 18. Anesthesiologists 200 jobs · $397,210
Occupations Tracked
704
with wage data
Published-Row Mean
$90,743
employment-weighted, 680 complete rows
Top Salary
$443,020
Radiologists
Cost of Living
108.9
9% above US avg
Highest Paying Jobs in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
| # | Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiologists | $443,020 |
| 2 | Anesthesiologists | $397,210 |
| 3 | Dermatologists | $329,990 |
| 4 | Cardiologists | $253,610 |
| 5 | Orthodontists | $248,110 |
| 6 | Psychiatrists | $246,990 |
| 7 | Physicians, Pathologists | $237,190 |
| 8 | Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric | $226,640 |
| 9 | Family Medicine Physicians | $225,140 |
| 10 | Surgeons, All Other | $224,860 |
| 11 | General Internal Medicine Physicians | $223,250 |
| 12 | Nurse Anesthetists | $223,150 |
| 13 | Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers | $209,750 |
| 14 | Physicians, All Other | $208,710 |
| 15 | Dentists, All Other Specialists | $207,450 |
| 16 | Public Relations Managers | $195,190 |
| 17 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $195,190 |
| 18 | Lawyers | $195,190 |
| 19 | Financial Managers | $185,270 |
| 20 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $185,220 |
| 21 | Dentists, General | $184,540 |
| 22 | Marketing Managers | $181,260 |
| 23 | Nuclear Engineers | $180,360 |
| 24 | Human Resources Managers | $177,960 |
| 25 | Sales Managers | $175,820 |
Lowest Paying Jobs in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
| Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Gambling Dealers | $31,200 |
| Cooks, All Other | $31,880 |
| Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials | $34,050 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $34,600 |
| Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers | $34,710 |
| Physical Therapist Aides | $34,780 |
| Gambling and Sports Book Writers and Runners | $35,100 |
| Personal Care and Service Workers, All Other | $35,300 |
| Slaughterers and Meat Packers | $35,380 |
| Cashiers | $35,470 |
Nationwide metros with similar published-row mean pay or employment scale
Two OEWS peer sets outside DC. Same-state wage areas above stay geographic; these neighborhoods are cross-state nearest neighbors on employment-weighted published-row mean wage ($90,743 here) and summed published employment.
Similar mean wage
Nearest other metros by employment-weighted published-row annual mean wage.
Similar employment scale
Nearest headcount peers (floor 100,000 summed published jobs), distinct from the mean-wage column.
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on BLS OEWS employment-weighted published-row mean wage and summed occupation employment. Employment peers exclude metros already listed in the mean-wage column so the two link sets stay distinct. Mean wage here is not a worker-level median.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Related federal data
What to do with this data
How to use Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV wage figures in a real decision
- Radiologists leads published medians in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV at $443,020/year; open the occupation for percentile bands and state rows. Radiologists
- The employment-weighted published-row mean of $90,743 adjusts to about $83,339 on a national-price basis at BEA RPP 108.9. Salary vs cost of living
- Compare this metropolitan statistical area against the statewide occupation table for DC before treating one geography as the other. State wage page
BLS OEWS estimates reflect the May 2025 reference period; small occupation-area cells can be suppressed, and figures are not employer offers.
Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Occupation rows use BLS OEWS May 2025. The metro benchmark is WageDex's employment-weighted mean of published occupation means; where BEA RPP is available, the price-level figure divides that benchmark by the published area parity. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.