Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary · SOC 25-1067

Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary Salary in the Washington Metro Area

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area

Figures describe the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not Washington city limits.

Median annual wage$97,580

BLS publishes only annual wages for this occupation (workers typically work fewer than 2,080 hours per year).

Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area earned a median of $97,580 per year as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $51,290 at the 10th percentile to $172,980 at the 90th. BLS estimates 200 people work in this occupation in the area.

Pay distribution

Half of Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary in the Washington metro area earn more than $97,580 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $75,670 and $128,480.

Wage percentiles (BLS OEWS)
Wage10th25thMedian75th90th
Annual$51,290$75,670$97,580$128,480$172,980

A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.

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How this area compares

  • Washington metro areathis metro area
    $97,580 median for Washington metro area; middle half earns $75,670 to $128,480
  • $103,160 median for District of Columbia; middle half earns $87,550 to $141,010
  • $84,290 median for United States; middle half earns $64,990 to $110,650

Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.

The median here is −5% vs District of Columbia overall and +16% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.

Compare with other areas

Where this metro sits nationally

$58,710$91,683$124,657$157,630Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL — $58,710El Paso, TX — $60,490Portland-South Portland, ME — $61,700Duluth, MN-WI — $62,480Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH — $62,860Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC — $66,890San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX — $67,770Raleigh-Cary, NC — $75,460South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI — $75,580Kansas City, MO-KS — $76,320Omaha, NE-IA — $77,140Cleveland, OH — $77,940Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY — $78,320Worcester, MA — $78,450Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN — $78,750Memphis, TN-MS-AR — $79,330Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC — $80,040Birmingham, AL — $80,230Syracuse, NY — $80,290San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR — $80,420Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL — $80,750Rochester, NY — $82,070Greensboro-High Point, NC — $82,110Richmond, VA — $82,230Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI — $82,320Knoxville, TN — $83,050Columbus, OH — $84,010Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN — $85,070Wilmington, NC — $86,010Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN — $86,040Ithaca, NY — $86,150Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX — $86,800Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI — $87,340Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV — $87,480Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO — $88,500Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA — $88,930Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ — $92,340Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX — $94,380Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI — $94,820Pittsburgh, PA — $95,440Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD — $95,620St. Louis, MO-IL — $96,240Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN — $97,280Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV — $97,580Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI — $98,500Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX — $99,800New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ — $99,850Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD — $99,980Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT — $100,710Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY — $101,780New Haven, CT — $102,150Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA — $102,330Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT — $102,790Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT — $102,940Amherst Town-Northampton, MA — $103,110Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH — $103,810Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA — $104,090Lansing-East Lansing, MI — $111,290College Station-Bryan, TX — $114,030San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA — $120,570Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA — $127,480Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA — $128,010Madison, WI — $132,640San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA — $132,930San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA — $141,950Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA — $157,630

Each dot is one metro area with a published median — hover any dot for the name and figure. Metros without published estimates are not drawn.

The Washington metro area has the 23rd-highest published median for this occupation among the 66 metro areas where BLS publishes it. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Keep exploring

Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:

Highest-paying metro areas for sociology teachers, postsecondarys · Highest-paying occupations in Washington Metro

About this estimate

These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.

Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.