What is the median Virginia salary in 2026?

VA's median household income is ~$87,000 — among the top 10 US states. Per-capita personal income is ~$72,000. Loudoun County median household clears $170K (wealthiest US county most years); Fairfax County $145K; Arlington $135K; Falls Church City $155K. Richmond metro median household ~$78,000; Hampton Roads ~$72,000; Southwest VA (Roanoke, Lynchburg, Bristol) drops to $55-65,000. The 'average Virginia salary' phrase usually conflates median with arithmetic mean — NoVA's federal-contractor + AWS + Capital One + Big Tech UHNW concentration pulls the mean appreciably above median.

What is Virginia's income tax rate in 2026?

4-bracket progressive: 2% to $3K, 3% to $5K, 5% to $17K, 5.75% above $17K. Effectively a flat 5.75% for anyone earning above ~$30K gross. The 5.75% top rate has been unchanged since 1972. The 2023 HB 30 doubled the VA standard deduction — single $8,500 / MFJ $17,000. Effective at $100K is ~5.0%; at $200K ~5.4%; at $500K ~5.6% (approaching the flat 5.75% asymptote). Property tax averages ~0.8% effective — among the lowest in the Mid-Atlantic.

How does the DC-VA-MD tax reciprocity work?

Washington DC has reciprocal income tax agreements with both Virginia and Maryland. VA + MD residents working in DC owe NO DC income tax — DC does not withhold from non-residents under reciprocity. A Fairfax VA resident commuting to a DC job pays only VA 5.75% (effective ~5%) on those wages. This is fundamentally different from the NYC-NJ situation (NJ residents working in NY pay NY state tax on NY-source wages). The reciprocity is one of the most generous interstate-tax arrangements in the US — and is the single biggest tax-policy reason for NoVA suburbs growing faster than DC proper since the 1970s.

Which Virginia professions pay the most?

Senior federal-contractor executives at Booz Allen McLean (~33K), Northrop Grumman Falls Church (~95K global), General Dynamics Reston (~110K global), Leidos Reston (~46K), SAIC Reston, CACI Reston, Peraton Reston clear $500K-$5M+ at C-suite. AWS HQ2 senior engineers + L7+ executives clear $400K-$1.5M+. Capital One McLean senior tech + product clears $300-700K. AmLaw equity partners at Hunton Andrews Kurth + McGuireWoods (Richmond) clear $1.5-3M. Specialty surgeons at Inova Fairfax + VCU Health + UVA Health clear $500-750K. Newport News Shipbuilding senior naval engineers + Norfolk Naval Shipyard cleared engineers $150-280K. Federal civilian SES at Pentagon/CIA/NRO clears $250K+ with NoVA locality + bonuses.

How big is Northern Virginia's federal-contractor economy?

Largest in the US. NoVA federal-contractor employment exceeds 200,000 across Booz Allen + Northrop + GD + Leidos + SAIC + CACI + Peraton + ManTech + the broader vendor ecosystem. Total annual contract value flowing through NoVA federal contractors exceeds $200B+ across DoD + USIC + civilian agency awards. The cluster has been the dominant private-sector NoVA economy since the 1970s and accelerated post-9/11 with the USIC + DHS expansion.

Does Virginia tax retirement income?

Partially. Virginia fully exempts Social Security benefits at the state level. Public-sector pensions from federal civilian + military + state + local + railroad retirement are taxed at the 5.75% rate but VA offers an age-65+ deduction of up to $12,000/yr (phased out above $50K AGI). Private pensions, 401(k) distributions, and traditional IRA distributions are taxable at 5.75%. VA has no state estate tax (repealed 2007) and no inheritance tax. Combined with the low property tax (~0.8%) and the 5.75% wage tax rate, VA is reasonably retirement-friendly — though FL (0% + no estate tax) and PA (3.07% + full retirement exemption + no estate tax) are clearly better US retirement-tax states.

Should I move from DC or Maryland to Northern Virginia for the tax savings?

Often yes, especially for DC residents at $100K+. DC progressive ~6.5% effective at $100K + DC-no-reciprocity-for-residents vs VA ~5.0% effective saves a $100K NoVA resident ~$1,200-2,000/yr. The bigger structural win for DC-to-NoVA movers is property tax and housing supply — DC property tax 0.85% on much higher per-square-foot valuations vs NoVA 0.8% on similar valuations. MD-to-NoVA at $100K Montgomery resident: MD 5.75% + Montgomery 3.2% local = 8.95% effective vs VA 5.0% = ~$4,000/yr savings. Many federal civilians + GS-13/14/15 employees relocate from Montgomery/PG MD to Loudoun/Fairfax/Arlington VA for the savings, keeping the same DC-based job under reciprocity.

Virginia Salary Guide — 2026

Virginia Salary Guide 2026: Take-Home + Professions

Virginia is a 4-bracket progressive state with a 5.75% top rate that hits at just $17,000 of taxable income — meaning anyone earning $30K or more is essentially paying a flat 5.75% on every marginal dollar. The 2023 doubling of the standard deduction (HB 30 — single $8,500 / MFJ $17,000) cushions low-to-mid earners; the real Virginia story is Northern Virginia. NoVA hosts the densest US federal-contractor cluster outside DC itself — Booz Allen McLean (~33K), Northrop Grumman Falls Church (~95K global), General Dynamics Reston (~110K global), Leidos Reston, SAIC Reston, CACI Reston, Peraton Reston, plus AWS HQ2 Arlington (~25K jobs target by 2030), Capital One HQ McLean (~52K), Hilton HQ Tysons, and the Loudoun County data center alley that handles an estimated 70% of global internet traffic. Hampton Roads runs the largest US military concentration outside DC — Naval Station Norfolk (largest naval base in the world), Newport News Shipbuilding (only US builder of nuclear aircraft carriers), NASA Langley. Richmond runs state government + Capital One operations + Altria HQ + AmLaw (Hunton Andrews Kurth, McGuireWoods).

See Virginia Tax Guide →Virginia Paycheck Calculator →

Section 2

Virginia take-home pay in 2026 at five common salary tiers

Single filer, federal standard deduction ($16,100), Virginia standard deduction ($8,500 single — post-2023 HB 30 doubling), zero 401(k) contribution. 2026 federal brackets per Rev. Proc. 2025-32 + FICA. VA progressive brackets compress fast: 2% to $3K, 3% to $5K, 5% to $17K, 5.75% above. The 5.75% top hits at $17K of taxable income — effectively a flat 5.75% for anyone earning above ~$30K gross. No city income tax (residents of Northern Virginia working in DC pay only VA tax via DC-VA-MD reciprocity).

Gross salary	Take-home (single)	Note
$50,000	$40,226	~$3,355/month. Comfortable in Roanoke, Lynchburg, Hampton; tight in Arlington or Old Town Alexandria.
$75,000	$58,026	$4,835/month. Above-median for Richmond + Tidewater; below livable threshold for a single adult inside the Beltway.
$100,000	$74,176	$6,180/month. ~$5,004 less take-home than TX/FL; ~$1,934 less than PA; ~$224 less than NC.
$150,000	$105,912	$8,825/month. Comfortable in Arlington + Fairfax + Reston at this tier — but Arlington median home is $850K+.
$200,000	$138,173	$11,515/month. Add'l Medicare 0.9% kicks in above $200K. VA's compressed brackets mean every dollar above $17K taxable faces the full 5.75%.

Married filing jointly uses doubled federal brackets + $17,000 VA SD. VA conforms to federal 401(k), HSA, and FSA treatment — pre-tax contributions reduce both federal and VA taxable income. No city income tax. DC-VA-MD reciprocity means VA residents commuting to DC jobs file only VA — DC does not withhold from non-residents (a major NoVA advantage that NJ residents commuting to NYC don't have). Two-earner MFJ pays more FICA than the calculator shows because each spouse has their own Social Security wage base.

Section 3

Where Virginia's highest salaries cluster — NoVA federal contractors, AWS HQ2, Capital One, Hampton Roads Navy

Senior-tier compensation bands. Northern Virginia hosts the densest US federal-contractor cluster — Booz Allen + Northrop + GD + Leidos + SAIC + CACI + Peraton all headquarter or operate from McLean/Falls Church/Reston/Chantilly. AWS HQ2 Arlington + Capital One McLean + Hilton Tysons add Big Tech and finance. Hampton Roads runs the largest US military concentration outside DC.

Federal contractor executive — NoVA Beltway Bandit corridor

$300K – $5M+

Booz Allen Hamilton HQ McLean (~33K — consulting to USIC + DoD), Northrop Grumman HQ Falls Church (~95K global, post-2011 HQ move from LA), General Dynamics HQ Reston (~110K global), Leidos HQ Reston (~46K), SAIC HQ Reston (~24K), CACI HQ Reston (~22K), Peraton HQ Reston (~18K, post-Veritas Capital roll-up), ManTech International (post-2022 Carlyle private). NoVA federal-contractor density is the densest in the US — McLean to Reston along the Dulles Toll Road is colloquially 'the Beltway Bandit belt.'

AWS HQ2 senior engineer / executive — Arlington

$400K – $1.5M+

Amazon Web Services HQ2 Arlington Crystal City + Pentagon City (~$2.5B initial investment, ~25K jobs target by 2030; first 8,000 onboarded by 2025). Amazon picked Arlington in 2018 alongside NYC Long Island City (later canceled). HQ2 + broader Amazon NoVA now anchor a Big Tech cluster competing with Bay Area senior IC + L7+ comp. Loudoun County (Ashburn/Sterling) hosts the world's densest data center concentration handling an estimated 70% of global internet traffic.

Specialty physician — Inova + VCU Health + UVA Health

$450K – $750K

Inova Health System Fairfax (~22K — largest NoVA health system; Inova Fairfax + Inova Loudoun + Inova Schar Cancer Institute), VCU Health Richmond (~14K), UVA Health Charlottesville (~10K, ~$1.8B annual revenue), HCA Virginia, Bon Secours Mercy Health Richmond, Sentara Healthcare Norfolk (~30K — largest Hampton Roads system). VA specialty surgical comp runs mid-tier vs DC/NYC; Inova Heart and Vascular Institute clinical specialists clear $700K+.

Capital One / Hilton / financial services HQ executive

$400K – $5M+

Capital One Financial HQ McLean (~52K — top-10 US bank by deposits + credit-card pioneer), Hilton Worldwide HQ Tysons (~440K global properties), MAXIMUS HQ Tysons, Marriott Bethesda just over the line. NoVA C-suite + senior corporate finance roles cluster around Capital One McLean + Hilton Tysons + the broader Tysons Corner office market.

AmLaw partner — NoVA + Richmond BigLaw

$500K – $3M+

Hunton Andrews Kurth HQ Richmond (~750 attorneys), McGuireWoods HQ Richmond (~1,000 attorneys, Tier-1 Mid-Atlantic), Williams Mullen Richmond, Akin Gump McLean, Hogan Lovells NoVA, Pillsbury McLean. NoVA AmLaw is heavily DC-firm-satellite; Richmond has independent Tier-1 anchors. Top equity partners clear $1.5-3M; DC firms with NoVA presence pay closer to DC partner tier.

Federal civilian — GS-13/14/15 + SES + USPHS officer

$130K – $250K base + locality

Pentagon Arlington (~25K, DoD HQ), DARPA Arlington, CIA Langley, NRO Chantilly, NGA Springfield (~8K), TSA HQ Arlington, USPTO Alexandria (~13K), FDIC HQ Arlington. NoVA federal-civilian locality pay is 33.94% above base GS schedule (2026) — a GS-15 step 10 NoVA total comp clears $220K. SES base $186-220K + cash bonuses common.

Naval shipbuilding senior engineer — Newport News + Norfolk

$140K – $250K

Newport News Shipbuilding HII (~25K — only US builder of nuclear aircraft carriers, ~$13B annual revenue; CVN-78 Ford-class + Virginia-class + Columbia-class submarine modules), Norfolk Naval Shipyard Portsmouth (oldest US Navy shipyard, ~10K civilian engineers), BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair. Cleared roles add 20-30%. Hampton Roads engineering is the densest US naval-engineering concentration.

Anesthesiologist / CRNA

$450K – $650K (MD) · $200K – $260K (CRNA)

Inova Fairfax, VCU Health, UVA Health, Sentara Norfolk, Riverside Newport News. VA CRNAs require physician supervision; comp runs solid mid-tier of US range.

Software engineer — senior / staff at NoVA tech

$200K – $450K

AWS HQ2 Arlington, Capital One Tech McLean (~10K engineers), Booz Allen Tech McLean, Leidos Tech Reston, Northrop Grumman Tech, AOL legacy Dulles, Verizon FiOS Ashburn, MicroStrategy Tysons, Carahsoft Reston. Senior tech comp runs ~10-15% below Bay Area FAANG but cleared roles + GS-15 dual-status SES roles + AWS L7+ at HQ2 close the gap. Loudoun data center alley adds infrastructure-engineering specialty depth.

Defense / aerospace engineer — Northrop + GD + Lockheed NoVA

$150K – $290K

Northrop Grumman Falls Church + NoVA sites (~30K NoVA), General Dynamics Reston (~110K global), Lockheed Martin Bethesda HQ (NoVA-adjacent + Manassas + Fort Belvoir), L3Harris, Raytheon, BAE Systems. Cleared roles dominate; NoVA is the densest US cleared-engineer market.

Section 4

Where Virginia pays the least — $12.41/hr state minimum + NoVA-vs-rural divergence

Virginia minimum wage is $12.41/hour (post-2024 scheduled increment per the 2020 HB 395; reaches $15.00/hr in 2026 if revenue conditions are met). Tipped minimum is $2.13/hr with tip credit. NoVA cost-of-living is among the highest in the US; Southwest VA (Lynchburg, Roanoke, Bristol) is among the most affordable. Typical full-time bands:

Retail cashier / sales associate

$26K – $36K

Walmart (HQ Bentonville AR but huge VA store base), Kroger, Harris Teeter (NC-HQ, Walmart subsidiary), Food Lion (NC-HQ), Target. UFCW Local 400 represents some VA grocery workers — VA is a right-to-work state, so union density is lower than IL/MA/NY peers.

Fast food / restaurant worker

$26K – $36K

McDonald's, Chick-fil-A, Wawa, Sheetz, independents + chains. VA tipped minimum $2.13/hr — busy Arlington Pentagon Row + Old Town Alexandria + Richmond Carytown servers often clear $40-55K with tips.

Home health aide / personal care worker

$28K – $38K

Bayada, BrightStar, Visiting Angels. VA's aging population (especially Tidewater + Southwest) keeps demand high; Medicaid reimbursement caps wages. SEIU Healthcare VA + 1199 represent some VA home-care workers.

Childcare worker / preschool aide

$26K – $38K

Bright Horizons, KinderCare, Goddard School. NoVA top private preschools (Sidwell Friends DC just over the line — Madeira, Holton-Arms, NCS) pay above mid-range; rural Southwest VA wages run at federal floor.

Hospitality / hotel worker

$26K – $38K

Marriott (HQ Bethesda just over the line), Hilton (HQ Tysons VA), Hyatt, Williamsburg Hospitality House, Wintergreen Resort, Homestead Hot Springs. Williamsburg + Virginia Beach + Wintergreen hospitality is highly seasonal.

Agricultural worker — Shenandoah Valley + Eastern Shore

$26K – $36K

Shenandoah Valley dairy + apples (Frederick, Page, Rockingham counties), Eastern Shore poultry (Tyson Foods + Perdue Farms Accomack), Northern Neck seafood (Chesapeake Bay), Southside tobacco legacy. H-2A visa labor + family farms dominate.

Section 5

Virginia's economy — NoVA federal-contractor + AWS + Capital One, Hampton Roads Navy, Richmond government + AmLaw

Northern Virginia (Arlington + Fairfax + Loudoun + Prince William + Alexandria) accounts for ~40% of state GDP — driven by the densest US federal-contractor cluster outside DC itself. Booz Allen McLean (~33K), Northrop Grumman Falls Church (~95K global), General Dynamics Reston (~110K global), Leidos Reston (~46K), SAIC Reston (~24K), CACI Reston (~22K), Peraton Reston (~18K), plus Lockheed Martin Bethesda satellites + L3Harris + Raytheon NoVA. The McLean-to-Reston corridor along the Dulles Toll Road is 'the Beltway Bandit belt.' Capital One HQ McLean (~52K, top-10 US bank by deposits), Hilton Worldwide HQ Tysons (~440K global properties), MAXIMUS HQ Tysons round out corporate-HQ density. AWS HQ2 Arlington (~25K jobs target by 2030) anchors a Big Tech cluster.

Loudoun County hosts the world's densest data center concentration — Equinix, Digital Realty, CoreSite, AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud — handling an estimated 70% of global internet traffic through Ashburn/Sterling fiber hubs. Loudoun is the wealthiest US county by median household income most years ($170K+ 2024). Federal civilian employment is enormous: Pentagon Arlington (~25K, DoD HQ), DARPA Arlington, CIA Langley, NRO Chantilly, NGA Springfield (~8K), USPTO Alexandria (~13K), TSA HQ Arlington, FDIC HQ Arlington. NoVA federal-civilian locality pay is 33.94% above base GS schedule (2026).

Hampton Roads (Norfolk + Virginia Beach + Newport News + Chesapeake + Portsmouth) runs the largest US military concentration outside DC. Naval Station Norfolk is the largest naval base in the world (~75K active duty + civilians). Newport News Shipbuilding HII (~25K) is the only US builder of nuclear aircraft carriers — CVN-78 Ford-class + Virginia-class submarines + Columbia-class submarine modules. Norfolk Naval Shipyard Portsmouth is the oldest US Navy shipyard. Joint Base Langley-Eustis + Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek + NAS Oceana complete the cluster. NASA Langley Research Center (~3K, first NACA/NASA center, 1917) anchors aerospace R&D. Richmond runs Virginia state government (~75K state employees), the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Altria HQ Henrico (~9K, parent of Philip Morris USA), Markel HQ Glen Allen, Genworth Richmond, VCU Health (~14K), plus AmLaw anchors Hunton Andrews Kurth + McGuireWoods + Williams Mullen. Charlottesville hosts UVA. Blacksburg hosts Virginia Tech.

Section 6

How Virginia tax shapes your actual take-home — compressed brackets + 2023 SD doubling + DC-VA-MD reciprocity

Virginia's 4-bracket progressive structure compresses fast: 2% to $3K, 3% to $5K, 5% to $17K, 5.75% above $17K. Effectively, anyone earning above ~$30K gross faces a flat 5.75% marginal rate on every additional dollar — VA's progressive structure benefits only very low earners. A $100K Virginia earner pays state tax of ~$5,004 (after the $8,500 single SD); a $200K earner pays ~$10,754. The 5.75% top rate has been unchanged since 1972 — Virginia has the least-changed top state rate in the country across the past 50 years.

The 2023 HB 30 doubled the Virginia standard deduction — single $8,500 (from $4,500) and MFJ $17,000 (from $9,000). For a $50K single earner that's $230/yr of tax savings; for a $100K earner $460/yr. The change was paired with a refundable Earned Income Tax Credit at 15% of the federal EITC. VA conforms to federal 401(k), HSA, and FSA treatment — pre-tax contributions reduce both federal and VA taxable income (unlike PA + NJ). No city income tax.

DC-VA-MD reciprocity is the structural NoVA tax advantage: Virginia residents working in DC owe no DC income tax — DC does not withhold for non-residents. A Fairfax resident commuting to DC pays only Virginia 5.75% (effective ~5%) on those wages. By contrast, NJ residents working in NYC face NY state tax on NY-source wages. The DC-VA-MD reciprocity is one of the most generous interstate-tax arrangements in the US. Virginia property tax averages ~0.8% effective — among the lowest in the Mid-Atlantic. VA has no state estate tax (repealed 2007) and no inheritance tax. Retirement income: VA exempts up to $12,000/yr of pension income for filers 65+; Social Security is fully exempt at the VA state level.

Section 7

$100,000 in Virginia vs DC + Maryland + Sun Belt peers — same gross, different take-home

Single filer, $100,000 gross, no 401(k), federal standard deduction. VA SD $8,500 applied. Wage take-home only — property tax not modeled.

Virginia (baseline)

Take-home ~$74,176

Federal $13,170 + VA state $5,004 (progressive ~5% effective above $8,500 SD) + FICA $7,650 = $25,824 total. No city tax. DC-VA-MD reciprocity means commuters to DC pay only VA tax.

Washington DC

−$1,200 vs VA (DC resident only)

DC progressive top 10.75% above $1M; effective at $100K ~6.5%. Note: only DC residents face this; VA residents working in DC pay only VA tax. DC residents take home ~$72,976.

Maryland

−$1,540 vs VA

Take-home ~$72,636. MD progressive top 5.75% (same top rate as VA) but with local piggyback taxes (Montgomery County 3.2%, PG County 3.2%, Baltimore City 3.2%, Howard 3.2%). MD effective at $100K + Montgomery local ~8.2% combined vs VA ~5.0%. NoVA wins materially vs MD suburb-DC residents.

North Carolina

+$224 vs VA

Take-home ~$74,400. NC flat 4.25% (2026 — phasing to 3.99% by 2027). Some NoVA-to-Charlotte or NoVA-to-Raleigh relocations driven by NC's slightly lower rate + dramatically lower property tax + lower COL.