Start with the answer
Receptionists and Information Clerks pay in District of Columbia and New Jersey
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Receptionists and Information Clerks is $49,060 per year in District of Columbia. It is $41,650 per year in New Jersey. District of Columbia is 17.8% above New Jersey on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 43-4171 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 2,000 wage and salary jobs in District of Columbia and 42,060 in New Jersey. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings