What Information Security Analysts earn in District of Columbia, DC
The median pay for Information Security Analysts in District of Columbia, DC is $148,950 per year, which works out to $71.61 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area, the labor market that District of Columbia, DC belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $150,230, which is 0.9% above the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 16,560 people working in this occupation across the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. District of Columbia, DC has roughly 681,294 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Information Security Analysts in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $96,550 a year ($46.42 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $209,290 or more ($100.62 an hour). That is a gap of $112,740 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $122,590 at the 25th percentile and $173,850 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.2 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Converted to an hourly wage, the median for Information Security Analysts in District of Columbia, DC is $71.61. A full-time schedule of 40 hours for 52 weeks adds up to $148,950, and the same salary is $12,413 a month before taxes or about $5,729 per biweekly pay period. After taxes the same job pays $49.50 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in District of Columbia, DC compares
Compared with the District of Columbia average
Pay for Information Security Analysts in District of Columbia, DC is in line with the statewide figure: $148,950 locally against an employment-weighted District of Columbia average of $148,950, a difference of only $0 (0.0%).
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Information Security Analysts is $128,817 across the contiguous United States. At $148,950, District of Columbia, DC pays $20,133 more, which is 15.6% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in District of Columbia, DC
Among the 618 occupations with published wages in District of Columbia, DC, Information Security Analysts ranks number 50 by median pay, ahead of about 92% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Lawyers at $195,190 a year, which is $46,240 more than the median for Information Security Analysts.
From gross pay to take-home pay
A salary of $148,950 does not arrive in full. We model a single filer with wage income only, the standard deduction and tax-year 2025 rules, and we keep the three tax layers apart: federal income tax, FICA (Social Security and Medicare) and state income tax. Together they take $45,995 a year, which leaves $102,955, or $8,580 a month.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $31 goes to taxes and $69 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 30.9%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $133,200. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 24% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $24,815, an effective 16.7% of gross pay, well below the 24% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $9,235 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $2,160. FICA totals $11,395, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in District of Columbia
District of Columbia income tax on this salary is $9,786 a year, or 6.6% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 39% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $815 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for District of Columbia, DC
IRS Statistics of Income data for District of Columbia, DC show an average adjusted gross income of $143,628 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 19.0% across all filers. Filers in the $100,000 to under $200,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 14.6%, compared with the 16.7% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in District of Columbia, DC
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in District of Columbia, DC: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $102,955 of take-home pay.
Rent
The HUD Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in District of Columbia, DC is $2,204 a month, or $26,448 a year. A two-bedroom costs $2,438 a month. For Information Security Analysts, a one-bedroom absorbs 25.7% of take-home pay and 17.8% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 2.3% of gross pay for Information Security Analysts in District of Columbia, DC. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using District of Columbia residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,871 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $653, for $2,524 in total. Gasoline in District of Columbia averages $3.48 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,611.
What is left over
Add the four basics together and living costs come to $34,019 a year, 33% of take-home pay. That leaves $68,935 a year, or $5,745 a month, for savings, transportation beyond fuel, health care, debt and everything else. That margin equals 46.3% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Information Security Analysts afford to live in District of Columbia, DC?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $148,950 that ceiling is $3,724 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $2,204 is $1,520 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $42.38 an hour; the median for Information Security Analysts is $71.61, which is 69% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $49.50 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 10.3 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,438 a month means $1,219 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $11,820 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $80,755.
How fast you can save
At $5,745 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 2 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 4 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Information Security Analysts pay in District of Columbia, DC
What is the hourly wage for Information Security Analysts in District of Columbia, DC?
The median is $71.61 per hour, based on $148,950 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $46.42 at the 10th percentile to $100.62 at the 90th percentile.
What is the take-home pay for Information Security Analysts in District of Columbia, DC?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $148,950 becomes $102,955 a year. That is $8,580 a month, $3,960 every two weeks or $1,980 a week.
What percentage of pay goes to taxes for Information Security Analysts in District of Columbia, DC?
Total taxes are $45,995 a year, an effective rate of 30.9%: $24,815 federal income tax, $11,395 FICA and $9,786 District of Columbia income tax.
Is pay for Information Security Analysts in District of Columbia, DC above the District of Columbia average?
It is about the same. The local median of $148,950 is within 0.0% of the District of Columbia average of $148,950.
Is a one-bedroom rent affordable on the median Information Security Analysts salary in District of Columbia, DC?
A one-bedroom costs $2,204 a month against take-home pay of $8,580, which is 25.7% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $3,724 a month.
How much is left after rent, food and energy for Information Security Analysts in District of Columbia, DC?
About $5,745 a month ($68,935 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $34,019 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in District of Columbia, DC at the 30% guideline?
$42.38 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $26,448 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Information Security Analysts is $71.61.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the District of Columbia rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.