Occupational profile · 2025

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. employs 701,920 people. The work it does most unusually is political scientists, at 122.8× the national concentration — 3,070 jobs, 0.44% of everyone working here, paying a median of $152,530.

701,920jobs

$91,540median annual wage84% above the median of the 51 state medians.

7major groups above the nationOf 22, running at least 15% more concentrated here than nationally.

What Washington, D.C. is distinctive for

Detailed occupations ranked by location quotient. A location quotient is an occupation’s share of a state’s jobs divided by its share of the nation’s. One means the state looks like the country; two means twice the concentration. It is a measure of distinctiveness, not of quality, size or pay. Bars use a logarithmic scale so the lower ranks stay legible beside the leader.

1Political Scientists3,070 jobs · median $152,530122.8×
2Economists3,000 jobs · median $167,59037.3×
3Public Relations Managers7,410 jobs · median $197,60021.9×
4Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other2,480 jobs · median $128,44014.8×
5Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary1,120 jobs · median $102,31014.7×
6Concierges3,000 jobs · median $38,23013.5×
7Public Relations Specialists16,720 jobs · median $102,74013.1×
8Social Science Research Assistants1,560 jobs · median $65,33011.3×
9News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists1,720 jobs · median $105,3909.7×
10Lawyers33,070 jobs · median $195,1909.7×
11Computer Occupations, All Other17,200 jobs · median $156,5908.8×
12Legal Support Workers, All Other1,770 jobs · median $88,4808.4×

All 12 together are 92,120 jobs — 13.12% of everyone working in Washington, D.C.. That is what a location quotient does: it finds the sharpest corner of a workforce rather than the biggest one, so even Washington, D.C.’s most distinctive occupation — Political Scientists at 122.8× the national rate — sits on 3,070 jobs. What the state is actually made of is the next section.

What Washington, D.C. is made of

All twenty-two occupational groups by headcount, with the concentration figure beside each. Most states look broadly alike in this view — that is the finding, not a flaw in it.

Washington, D.C., occupational major groups. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.
Occupation group	Jobs	vs national	Median wage
Business and Financial Operations Occupations	110,570	2.32×	$109,990
Management Occupations	105,590	2.10×	$169,990
Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations	56,970	0.92×	$44,390
Office and Administrative Support Occupations	53,960	0.67×	$60,660
Computer and Mathematical Occupations	43,050	1.81×	$133,010
Legal Occupations	41,700	7.08×	$195,190
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations	33,970	3.68×	$101,750
Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	32,790	0.80×	$79,890
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	29,790	0.67×	$100,400
Protective Service Occupations	29,670	1.74×	$73,950
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations	22,640	1.10×	$39,430
Healthcare Support Occupations	20,950	0.59×	$43,060
Sales and Related Occupations	20,510	0.34×	$46,870
Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	18,490	0.30×	$49,460
Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	17,790	2.68×	$128,610
Construction and Extraction Occupations	12,770	0.44×	$70,110
Architecture and Engineering Occupations	11,790	1.00×	$125,650
Personal Care and Service Occupations	11,720	0.80×	$40,350
Community and Social Service Occupations	11,360	0.94×	$69,130
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	10,740	0.39×	$72,000
Production Occupations	4,990	0.13×	$59,750
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations	120	0.06×	$70,990

More on Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. on the State Development Index Who is arriving in and leaving Washington, D.C. Economic development offices

Blank cells are estimates BLS did not release, usually because too few employers reported. They are shown as gaps rather than filled. Detailed occupations are included only where at least 1,000 people are employed, below which a quotient is survey noise. A wage marked “$239,200 or more” is censored at source: BLS does not publish medians above that figure, so the number is a floor rather than the wage. A work of the U.S. government: no copyright subsists (17 U.S.C. §105). BLS OEWS