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Jobs in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area: pay, hiring and remote work
The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area has 3,856 open job postings from 540 employers in our data. 61.2% list a pay range, the median posted pay is $156,500 a year, 7.3% are remote and 37.7% have been open more than 60 days (data as of October 2026).
What stands out
- A $156,500 posted salary in the Washington area buys about what $143,500 buys in the average US metro area, because prices here run 9% above the national average.
- Housing costs run 51% above the US average here (BEA regional price parities).
- After adjusting for local prices, the typical worker's official median wage ($71,000) is worth $65,500 in average-US dollars, 4th of 99 metro areas.
- 61.2% of open job postings list a pay range, 7th of 99 metro areas.
- 8.5% of postings are entry-level, 91st of 99 metro areas.
The metro area's unemployment rate was 3.8% in 2026-08 (4.2% a year earlier) (BLS, not seasonally adjusted). Across District of Columbia, employers had 34,000 job openings in 2025-12, an openings rate of 4.5% (BLS JOLTS). Indeed's own measure of job postings in the metro area is 17.2% below its February 2020 level and 7% higher than a year ago (Indeed Hiring Lab, 2026-10-02).
City by city inside the metro area
| Place | Postings | Employers | Pay listed | Median posted pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington, DC | 2316 | 371 | 69.5% | $165,500 |
| Gaithersburg, MD | 228 | 25 | 32.5% | $140,000 |
| Herndon, VA | 218 | 38 | 63.7% | $156,500 |
| Alexandria, VA | 166 | 49 | 22.6% | $119,000 |
| Vienna, VA | 130 | 18 | 84.8% | $136,000 |
| Leesburg, VA | 122 | 17 | 29.9% | $138,000 |
| Rockville, MD | 111 | 35 | 49.5% | $132,500 |
| Frederick, MD | 104 | 33 | 40.7% | $115,000 |
| Fairfax, VA | 101 | 46 | 44.9% | $94,500 |
| Falls Church, VA | 66 | 24 | 27.4% | – |
| Manassas, VA | 65 | 18 | 23.2% | – |
| College Park, MD | 44 | 13 | 48.8% | $151,500 |
| Laurel, MD | 43 | 10 | 63.2% | – |
| Fredericksburg, VA | 39 | 18 | 68% | – |
| Bowie, MD | 39 | 10 | n/a | – |
| Capitol Heights, MD | 20 | 4 | n/a | – |
Places with at least 15 postings from 3 employers. Shading shows where median posted pay is higher. Pay figures need 8 postings with pay.
City pages: Washington.
Posted pay vs official wages
| Kind of job | Median posted pay | Closest official occupation | Official median wage (BLS, May 2025) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software developers | $193,000 163 postings | software developers | $155,000 |
| People and recruiting | $170,000 18 postings | human resources specialists | $101,000 |
Official wages are the Bureau of Labor Statistics median annual wage for all workers in that occupation in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area. Posted pay is the middle of the ranges in open postings, so the two measure different things: pay for open jobs versus pay for everyone already employed.
Posted pay by kind of job
| Kind of job | Median posted pay | Postings with pay |
|---|---|---|
| Legal and compliance | $197,500 | 66 |
| Software developers | $193,000 | 163 |
| Data scientists | $178,000 | 14 |
| Security and IT | $175,000 | 97 |
| People and recruiting | $170,000 | 18 |
| Sales | $166,500 | 155 |
| Marketing | $165,000 | 64 |
| Product and design | $164,500 | 38 |
| Customer support and success | $156,500 | 29 |
| Software engineering | $156,000 | 135 |
| Nursing and clinical care | $155,000 | 36 |
| Engineering (other) | $150,000 | 13 |
| Finance and accounting | $141,000 | 51 |
| Data and analytics | $135,500 | 20 |
| Operations and logistics | $132,000 | 77 |
| Accountants | $110,500 | 10 |
Who is hiring, by industry
| Industry | Postings |
|---|---|
| Software & Technology | 1087 |
| Consulting & Professional Services | 807 |
| Healthcare & Life Sciences | 555 |
| Manufacturing & Industrial | 302 |
| Real Estate & Construction | 261 |
| Other | 258 |
| Retail & E-commerce | 132 |
| Financial Services | 109 |
| Energy & Utilities | 107 |
| Media & Entertainment | 77 |
| Government & Nonprofit | 67 |
| Logistics & Transportation | 47 |
| Education | 31 |
Employers with the most openings
- Accenturefederalservices: 266 postings
- Andurilindustries: 184 postings
- Leidos: 162 postings
- AstraZeneca: 121 postings
- Veterinaryemergencygroupst: 76 postings
Federal government hiring
1059 federal job announcements open to the public list Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, with a median posted salary range midpoint of $130,500. Agencies hiring most: Department of the Air Force Headquarters (129), Central Intelligence Agency (46), Offices, Boards and Divisions (41), Architect of the Capitol (38), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (36). Source: USAJOBS, 2026-10-10.
What your paycheck buys here
Prices in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area run 9% above the national average, and housing runs 51% above it. The official median wage for all jobs is $71,000, which is worth $65,500 in average-US dollars. The median posted pay of $156,500 is worth $143,500.
How it compares with similar-sized metro areas
| Metro area | Pay listed | Posted pay | Official wage | Prices | Paycheck power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 61.2% | $156,500 | $71,000 | 108.9 | $65,500 |
| Houston | 17.5% | $127,500 | $49,500 | 98.6 | $50,000 |
| Philadelphia | 28.4% | $111,500 | $54,500 | 102.6 | $53,000 |
| Atlanta | 25.9% | $134,500 | $51,000 | 100.1 | $51,000 |
| Miami | 21.2% | $115,000 | $48,500 | 114.2 | $42,500 |
| Boston | 59.8% | $159,000 | $66,500 | 108.3 | $61,500 |
| Dallas | 26.1% | $132,000 | $51,500 | 103.1 | $50,000 |
Compare any metro areas side by side
Download this data
Free to use with credit: Second Summit, October 2026. Data (CSV) · Data (JSON) · paycheck power chart (SVG) · posted vs official chart (SVG) · prices chart (SVG) · industries chart (SVG) · biggest jobs chart (SVG)
Related pages
- State pages: District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland
- Compare Washington with other metro areas
- Paycheck calculator: what a salary in Washington is worth elsewhere
- Mentioned in: October 2026 report
Where it ranks
A posting that lists several places counts once in the metro. Metro areas are the Census Bureau's 2023 definitions. This covers employers whose career pages we read, not every job in the area. Methodology · All metro areas (CSV)