There are a lot of old feds that can afford the area because of how it was priced 25-40 years ago. That’s how stable some fed jobs and careers were.

Now, talking to a barista in DC and the solution is 4-5 roommates. Not unfamiliar to those in the bay area, but less upside.

Less upside…unless your goal is to mix it up with politics,

vs the tech machine.

Not everyone is you, us.

One thing to remember is that federal workers tend to be older because most agencies have been encouraged to hire contractors for decades. That skews averages up towards the mid-career managers, which will seem high if you compare it to the entire job market but if you only compare them with similar private sector employees who have comparable experience and skills they’re underpaid.

Yeah, it's marginally above average for DC, but that doesn't mean they're "raking it in". The average (which is a bad metric for income) is dragged up by the wealthy in DC balancing out the poor in DC, not hordes of Federal Workers (most of whom live outside DC in Maryland/Virginia, FWIW) making $120k.

What number do you have for median federal worker income in DC then? The median representing the 'hordes' were making $120+k from what I saw, not just the average.

Okay, cite your source for that. ZipRecruiter says the median federal income is $125k, with other sources saying the average is $130k. I don't see any source saying they're making way more than that.

>> not hordes of Federal Workers (most of whom live outside DC in Maryland/Virginia, FWIW) making $120k.

> ZipRecruiter says the median federal income is $125k

By your own (contradicting) admission it's hordes of federal workers making $120+k.

I cite your own source, which is inline with what I found.