Hows being a consultant living in DC post grad?

Have a gig lined up in DC after grad in the spring, 120k total comp. Is this enough to be comfortable? I'm not a huge spender or anything, honestly live pretty modestly. Does anyone have any experience living in DC as a young professional? What was it like?

11 Comments
 

lol what type of question is this. 120k is enough to live anywhere in the country. DC is not near NY or SF in terms of COL so you’ll be chilling. I would advise putting that salary in a COL calculator online to see how much you’ll have after tax. If you’re a modest spender you should be able to save like 50k which you can put into retirement accounts, stocks, etc. With rent and other costs you should spend about 35k or less in the year if you’re a modest spender, considering the firm will pay for the meals.

 

aite cool sounds good. people complain like crazy abt the COL so I was unsure where I stood in that sense

 

I currently live in DC, 120k is more than enough. You can find luxury one bed apartments for $2500 a month and really don’t need a car here. I plan on staying in dc post grad in a consulting role as well.

 

Got a job in banking in DC and am looking for places to stay. What are your thoughts on Reston/Tysons area? I have 2 days WFH, and then split 3 in Tysons and 2 in DC so having to make the commute on metro twice a week is so-able for me.

Please let me know - and any other recs you may have would be greatly appreciated

 

You'll be perfectly fine with $120K. You can find a good Jr 1-Bed/ 1-Bed in a luxury building in a desirable part of the city on your pre-bonus salary. Better still if you live with a roommate or find a building in Arlington or Bethesda.

DC is a great city to live in if you are at an MBB or equivalent firm, which is what I would assume based on your salary. It's less desirable if you're at a federal consulting firm like Big 4 or BAH doing pointless staff augmentation projects. Congrats!

 

I'm actually going to be on the internal consulting-esque arm of a large financial services firm in the area! So not quite MBB,  but adjacent. Thanks!

 

Earum pariatur vel porro et. Expedita quibusdam ut illum aut aspernatur id totam. Quia culpa dolorem ad consequatur quasi nobis et.

Sit voluptates et nobis et a. Quam at et sunt officia quaerat placeat officiis. Accusamus quia sapiente et rem numquam eligendi. Reiciendis est assumenda ut corrupti harum odio sequi.

Dignissimos quisquam culpa voluptate ad rerum sit. Exercitationem suscipit quo voluptatem. Est consequuntur occaecati earum ad necessitatibus quis. Quisquam sed voluptatibus doloremque consequatur et quidem omnis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Consulting

  • Boston Consulting Group 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 99.0%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.5%
  • Oliver Wyman 98.0%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Consulting

  • Cornerstone Research 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 99.0%
  • Boston Consulting Group 98.5%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.0%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.5%
  • Boston Consulting Group 99.0%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.5%
  • Oliver Wyman 98.0%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Consulting

  • Partner (4) $361
  • Principal (30) $294
  • Director/MD (58) $274
  • Vice President (53) $247
  • Engagement Manager (111) $232
  • Manager (167) $172
  • 2nd Year Associate (185) $142
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (115) $135
  • Senior Consultant (354) $132
  • Consultant (635) $122
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (162) $121
  • 1st Year Associate (575) $121
  • NA (16) $114
  • Engineer (6) $114
  • 2nd Year Analyst (390) $104
  • Associate Consultant (175) $100
  • 1st Year Analyst (1152) $90
  • Intern/Summer Associate (205) $83
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (626) $67
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”