Therapists Average Salary in District of Columbia
$110,617 average · $110,617 median · BLS OEWS 2025
SOC Code: 29-1120What is this?
Combined BLS estimate across: Physical Therapists, Speech-Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, Respiratory Therapists, Radiation Therapists, Recreational Therapists, Exercise Physiologists
This page shows employer-reported wages for Therapists in District of Columbia, drawn from the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey — median and mean pay, the full percentile distribution, and the industries that employ this occupation locally. Credential level sets the floor and ceiling: each step up the licensure ladder (LPN to RN to NP, for example) moves the entire distribution, not just the median. Setting matters next — hospitals generally pay above clinics and far above schools or home care for the same license. Shift differentials, overtime, and travel/contract arrangements can push actual earnings well above the base wages recorded here.
How much do Therapists make in District of Columbia?
The average therapists salary in District of Columbia is $110,617 per year. That works out to about $53.18 per hour on average. BLS counts roughly 2,090 therapists jobs in District of Columbia.
Mean and median are close, so pay is relatively concentrated around $110,617. Entry-level roles (10th percentile) report about $110,617; experienced workers at the 90th percentile report about $110,617 — a 0% spread from bottom to top. Figures are employer-reported wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — not self-reported survey averages — so they are the right baseline for offers, raises, and relocation decisions in this market.
How Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Careers Are Structured
Healthcare practitioner wages are among the most reliable in the labor data: demand is demographic rather than cyclical, licensure restricts supply, and the aging population guarantees the trend. This group spans an enormous range — from technologists to physicians — so the occupation-level detail on this page matters more than group generalizations.
The wage tables and percentile chart on this page show how therapists pay is distributed in District of Columbia specifically — and because state-level wages for the same occupation routinely differ by 30% or more, the local figures here are the ones that matter for offers, raises, and relocation decisions in this market.
What Moves Pay in This Field
Credential level sets the floor and ceiling: each step up the licensure ladder (LPN to RN to NP, for example) moves the entire distribution, not just the median. Setting matters next — hospitals generally pay above clinics and far above schools or home care for the same license. Shift differentials, overtime, and travel/contract arrangements can push actual earnings well above the base wages recorded here.
Every occupation in this group has a defined educational and licensure pipeline, which makes career planning unusually concrete: the prerequisites, program length, and resulting wage distribution are all knowable in advance. The highest-return calculation in healthcare is comparing the cost and duration of the next credential against the permanent distribution shift it buys.
New to reading wage distributions? Our guide to salary percentiles explains how to place yourself on the chart above, and the negotiation playbook shows how to use these numbers in an actual conversation.
What Do Therapists Do?
Therapists positions belong to the healthcare practitioners and technical field. Healthcare practitioner wages are among the most reliable in the labor data: demand is demographic rather than cyclical, licensure restricts supply, and the aging population guarantees the trend. This group spans an enormous range — from technologists to physicians — so the occupation-level detail on this page matters more than group generalizations.
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Code: 29-1120
Therapists pay in District of Columbia
In District of Columbia, therapists report a median of $110,617 (about $53.18/hour) across roughly 2,090 jobs. The local pay band runs from about $110,617 at the 10th percentile to $110,617 at the 90th.
Compared with the national distribution, local industry mix and cost of living are the main reasons District of Columbia wages for this occupation sit where they do — toggle Regional Price Parity on this page to see purchasing-power-adjusted pay.
What your paycheck is really worth in District of Columbia
Prices in District of Columbia run 10% above the national average (RPP 109.9). So a nominal salary of $110,617 has the buying power of about $100,651 in national terms.
District of Columbia vs. United States for Therapists
The median therapists salary in District of Columbia is $110,617, which is +12.2% above the national median of $98,615 (mean pay is +12.8% above the U.S. mean of $98,078). Among 51 states and D.C. with OEWS data, District of Columbia ranks #2 by median wage for this occupation (top tier). District of Columbia accounts for about 0.0% of U.S. therapists employment in the latest OEWS release.
See every state ranked for this occupation on the best-paying states page, or compare purchasing power on real wages.
Income reality check
The median salary for Therapists in District of Columbia of $110,617 falls in the Upper-middle class band of this framework - roughly ~13% of the U.S. population and ~4% of the global population sit in this band.
Illustrative relative standing for education only - this ladder is a simplified framework, not an official Census, BLS, or World Bank statistical series. Salary figures on Wage Atlas come from official BLS OEWS data.
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Occupation Report Card
Top Industries for Therapists
| $100,010 | $99,200 | $48 | 662,970 | |
| $99,662 | $98,346 | $48 | 739,100 | |
| $98,119 | $98,529 | $47 | 1,029,840 | |
| $93,760 | $90,360 | $45 | 156,280 | |
| $91,581 | $85,214 | $44 | 423,440 |
Therapists in Other States
Compare salaries for this occupation across different states:
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Viewing: Therapists (SOC: 29-1120)