The $81K federal salary is a bit misleading, at least with respect to salaries in DC. The average salary would be a broad measure that includes all geographic areas. In DC however, higher GS-13/14/15 grades are commonplace and pay at those levels runs in the low hundreds but can go much higher in the upper steps of those grades. Bottom line is that DC feds are highly compensated, not to mention having an exceedingly generous benefits package.
Thanks for the charts. There was a time when the numbers were pretty much reversed.